Unmasked
by Totally-Out-Of-It
Summary: AU Sequel to Masked. Marmen is just a memory, but something is threatening the peace they’ve gained. And everyone is shocked to find that enemy in Kira himself. 'Do you really love him that much'
1. Prolog

First off, I'd like to apologize for taking so long to write this. I started it at the same time I was trying to write a lot of stories and it came out sounding like crap, as did a lot of my stories, and I trashed the whole thing. After that, as some people know, my computer crashed and I lost EVERYTHING. But I really am sorry about taking so long to write this, it's already been over a year since I finished Masked!

AU Sequel to Masked Marmen is just a memory, but something is threatening the piece they've gained. And everyone is shocked to find that enemy in Kira himself. 'Kira is mine. Stay away or die.'

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**Prolog**

Kira opened his eyes when he felt the gentle wind against his cheek. His violet eyes were shining with life now that he was free from Letlights and Marmen. He was sitting on a hill covered in soft, flowing grass that rustled in the wind but did not bother Kira in the slightest. The sun was shining down on him, with only a few clouds, and it was the perfect temperature to just doze on the hill.

But Kira found no comfort here.

He knew he had not been here moments before. He'd been laying down to sleep in bed. And after spending the majority of his life in this place, he could easily recognize the Dreamscape. The only difference was that now he could see himself in clear perception, as on any other day of his life. But why was he here now? Athrun hadn't said anything about visiting their old spot together, so what had called him here?

'Kira….'

Kira stood up and turned around. There was no one behind him on the hill top. Nearby was a tree that provided the perfect shade, but Kira felt afraid of the tree. He moved a bit further away and then sat down again, trying to will himself to sleep.

He couldn't leave.

'Kira…..'

"Who?" he asked softly. Kira had regained much of his voice, but it was still only a soft semblance of what it should have been.

The voice that called his name sounded so familiar to Kira that it was frightening. Even scarier was the fact that he could not pinpoint where it was coming from. He supposed this was because he was in the dreamscape, and someone could be anywhere at any time. But he would really like to know who had trapped him here.

'Kira…..I've always been here…..' It felt to Kira as if arms were sliding down from his shoulders to hug him from behind, but when he flipped around there was no one there.

He was starting to panic.

'Always watching…..' Kira stood up. 'Always listening……' The brunette began to look around wildly, trying desperately to find his tormentor. 'Always protecting……' The voice was getting angrier and the sky was starting to darken.

Kira ran. He ran as fast as he could from the hill, down into the fields of green below. This was currently the other male's territory and Kira knew he couldn't escape, but he wanted to….desperately.

'I've always been here…..Just for you…..' The voice called, and it was all around him still.

Kira tripped and took a few deep breaths before moving to get up. He was in a crouched position when the voice came back, so loud he was sure they were standing right in front of him. But no one was there.

'Only you…..And now you abandon me for another? I don't think that is acceptable…..' Kira felt the arms wrap around him and shut his eyes tight. When the voice spoke, malice hidden beneath it's calm, Kira could feel someone's breath against his left ear. 'You're _mine_.'

And then it hit him.

Kira flipped around to face his foe, but instead found himself staring up at the ceiling of the bedroom he and Athrun shared. Kira sat up in bed, noticing that he was wet from sweat and his heart was still beating. That was all reasonable, because he was still scared. That voice…..That voice had been-

"Kira?" a drowsy voice from next to him asked. Kira turned his head to see Athrun's hands clenching and unclenching the covers, obviously confused as to why Kira wasn't lying down. Athrun opened his left eye, the one not pressed into the bedspread, and stared quizzically and tiredly up at the brunette. "What's wrong?"

Athrun sat up, suddenly wide awake. Kira was frightened. His eyes were wide and he was shaking. Sitting up gave Athrun the perfect view of Kira's bare and sweaty chest, where he could see several scars from his years at Letlights. Kira shook his head and turned away from Athrun.

"Kira?" Athrun lifted his left hand, his right holding himself up, and turned Kira's head to face his own. "Kira, what's wrong?"

"N-nothing…" Kira almost rasped out. He looked into Athrun's eyes, his own were still very innocent. "A nightmare…."

Athrun barely stopped himself from gasping. He pulled Kira close to him and felt sweat from Kira's body get on to his own bare chest. Kira hated nightmares and Athrun had given himself the task of either preventing them, or comforting Kira after they happened. Up to this point in time, Kira had only had about five nightmares in his lifetime. Six with this most recent one. Even after Letlights was over with, Kira rarely had a nightmare about it, and Athrun felt proud whenever Kira said it was because Athrun was with him.

Kira wrapped his arms around Athrun too and held him as close as humanly possible. Athrun whispered incoherently in Kira's ear, but even though he wasn't listening Kira knew that the non-understandable words were those of comfort. But Kira knew he would never fully calm down from that nightmare. That voice had been telling him something….It was angry. When Kira looked at Athrun after he woke up, he knew that the voice had been angry at what he and Athrun had done just before going to sleep.

But what was worse was that Kira knew the voice intended to hurt Athrun…..and the voice had been his own.

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Ok, that's the prolog….It should set everyone waiting at ease, yet not. You'll all be yelling in your reviews about what this means, but I won't tell you! -sticks out tongue- You'll have to read to find out. I apologize in advanced, in case I don't get the next chapter out too soon. Please Read and Review! 


	2. School Stories

Oh my gosh. I just realized that I misspelled 'peace' in the summary. -laugh- I said 'piece' instead. Sorry about that. I'll fix it in the summary, but the version in the prolog is stuck that way. Whoops.

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**Chapter 1 - School Stories**

Athrun's eyes opened as he brought his cup down and placed it on the counter. He stared at it almost angrily. The cup was empty, but remnants of coffee still remained in it. He poured some more of the energy-bringing liquid into his cup and reveled in the warmth it brought as he took another sip.

"Good," a voice came from the living room, out of his view. "Next?"

Athrun walked to the edge of the kitchen, where there was an opening into the living room. There was no door to the kitchen, just a doorway. His eyes were hard as he stared at the two people in the living room. Kira was sitting on the couch and an older man was standing about five feet away pointing to a board on which he'd written the next question.

Soon after starting, Mr. Anders had learned it was easier to just show Kira the questions then to say them. Kira was a great student and learned at a phenomenal rate. Kira rarely spoke to him though. For that reason, Athrun didn't trust him. Kira only spoke to people he trusted, so Mr. Anders was _barely_ trustable.

Mr. Anders was thirty-six years old, single, and a home school teacher for fifteen years. He was about 5'8", a good three inches taller than Kira, with short brown hair and eyes. Even though he gave off a kind smile and aura, all Athrun could see was dark. He sometimes wondered if he was just jealous, but then he remembered that Kira didn't talk to this man and realized that wasn't be.

Just then, as Athrun's vision began to cloud, the phone rang. All three occupants of the house looked up from what they were doing, but only Athrun went for the phone, taking another sip of his coffee. Mr. Anders smiled at Kira when the phone stopped ringing and said 'Great Job' because his student had gotten the question right.

"Hello, Athrun Zala speaking," Athrun greeted.

"_Athrun? You don't sound to peppy this morning, what's wrong?" _The woman on the other end of the line was Cagalli. Athrun frowned at his coffee before sipping it.

"Getting a late start this morning….Kira….We didn't sleep much last night….," he shook his head with a sigh, "He had a nightmare and….," he trailed off.

"_I see," _Cagalli's voice was suddenly dull, but she picked it up, _"So what's he up to now?"_

"He's in class. Mr. Ander's is here until three today," Athrun sighed, "At this rate, Kira'll be done with school in a year." He laughed, but he heard Cagalli 'humph.'

"_You don't trust him," _she stated bluntly. He took a long gulp of his coffee.

"No." he said at length, "I'm trying. But there's just something about him I don't like. I can't pinpoint it though."

"_Don't worry about it. I'm sure you and Kira can figure it out eventually."_

"What'd you call for anyway?" Athrun asked, glaring half-heartedly at his yet again empty cup. He muttered under his breath as he took the cordless phone over to the coffee pot and poured one last cup.

"_Nice language. But whatever," _it sounded like Cagalli shook herself, _"I was hoping to take him to the movies this weekend. It's getting to where people don't recognize him immediately when he walks by so…I was hoping."_

Athrun nodded, to himself. It had been hard to go anywhere after the Letlights new announcement. Kira had been so famous, or infamous, that it took twice as long as it should to get anywhere, even by car! After a year, the rumors were dying down and it was getting ever more rare to be stopped on the street. Mostly, only tourists or people from out of the city stopped him now.

"Sure. When he's done with school, I'll pop the idea to him. I'm sure he'll be ecstatic to see you. What's it been, two weeks?" Athrun turned his eyes towards the living room, where Mr. Ander's voice could be heard.

"_Yea, sorry about that. But I don't have a house there yet. I'm trying to find one nearby, but none of your neighbors seem intent on moving in the next millennia," _she grumbled. Athrun laughed and he heard Mr. Anders call Kira's attention back to the school work a moment later.

"Hm…," he shook his head. "Well, if that's all, I'd like to sit in on the lesson. You know, just to keep an eye out? So….-"

"_I get it Mr. Protective Boyfriend, I'll leave. Just make sure nothing happens to my brother. If he's hurt when I come by this Saturday, I'll hurt you twice as bad," _Cagalli warned. Athrun shuddered, not doubting that she would follow through. But he didn't think it possible for Kira to get hurt, so he wasn't really worried.

"Alright then. See you in a few days," Athrun smiled at the phone. When he heard Cagalli hang up, he clicked the 'off' button and set the phone down.

He walked into the living room, sitting down on a recliner chair near the couch, and sipped on his coffee as he watched Mr. Anders and Kira study and learn. Later, Athrun knew he'd tell Kira something else about the world that you don't learn in school, and Kira would look more happy then the sun. Currently though, Kira was trying to hide his boredom. That made Athrun smile.

-

-

"See you tomorrow, Mr. Anders," Athrun waved goodbye to the older male. He waited until the teacher had driven away before walking back inside.

"I don't like him…" Kira's voice was incredibly soft, but Athrun could hear it perfectly. He never wanted to miss a word the brunette said to him, or said at all, so he was always listening for that voice to speak up. "He always has a funny look in his eyes…."

"A funny look?" Athrun asked as he sat down on the couch next to Kira. "Like how?"

"I don't know…" Kira shook his head. "It's different from Marmen and Scott and the others….It's different from you, and from Lacus and Cagalli….It's just…different…." His hands came up to cover his face, as if he were scared, "It makes me feel funny…I don't like it. I don't like him."

"I know Kira. I don't either. But you're almost done with this level of schooling, so soon you'll get a new teacher. Hopefully one who doesn't have this look to them," Athrun assured his love. He gave Kira a quick kiss and smiled. "Cagalli called this morning."

Kira looked up at him in surprise. He smiled, but Athrun knew he was waiting for more.

"She wanted to know if you wanted to go with her to a movie this Saturday," he explained. Kira nodded excitedly and jumped up from the couch. "I see you're excited. But for now, you'll have to stay with boring old me."

"Athrun isn't boring!" Kira said fiercely. He was suddenly right in Athrun's face, so close Athrun could feel Kira's breath on his lips. Kira stared directly into Athrun's eyes when he spoke, and when he did his voice was softer than normal and sounded naïve but wise. "I love you, Athrun…"

Athrun felt a blush coming over his cheeks. Kira smiled when he caught sight of it and gave Athrun a small peck on the cheek before standing up straight and out of Athrun's way again. Athrun stood up and gave Kira an almost shy smile.

"So what will we do today?" he asked. Kira's smile was serene and calm. He lightly grabbed Athrun's right wrist and pulled him further into the house. Athrun knew where they were headed already.

Once in the room Athrun used as an office-type library, Kira let go of his more masculine boyfriend and ran over to the bookshelf. He grabbed a book with a brown spine and golden lettering. When he pulled it out, the book wasn't brown, but had a greenish tinted picture of a boy pulling a girl out of a window and a shadowy creature reaching for them. A glowing ball of light with a trail of greenish sparks flitted across the cover.

"I wanna know what happens to Peter," he said, with a faint blush, as he handed the book to Athrun.

One thing Athrun had learned in a short amount of time was that Kira loved fairytale books, fantasy and adventure. The one they were currently on was called Peter and the Shadow Thieves, by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Kira made himself comfortable on the lounge couch in the room, while Athrun sat at the end of the couch, Kira's head against his leg and curled into a ball. Athrun opened the book to chapter twenty-seven, page one hundred sixty-three, where the book mark held their page, and cleared his throat.

"Chapter twenty-seven, Into the Storm. In the sail, Peter listened, teeth chattering, as Tinker Bell delivered the bad news. 'Tonight,' she was saying. 'When it's dark. They're waiting for….'," Athrun made it seem just as dreary as the writers meant it to be, slowing words when the scene called for it and making everything feel very alive to Kira.

The chapters were short, but Kira loved the story of the orphaned Peter and his friends. Currently, he was on a ship bound for London, hiding in a sail because he wasn't supposed to be there. It was all very exciting and Kira loved listening to Athrun read. Each character had a different voice, a different tone made by Athrun just for Kira. It made the story very special. Often, they'd spend hours in the office, just reading books about magic and fantasy. This was the second book in the series, after Peter and the Star Catchers, by the same men, and Kira was hoping there would be more!

It was almost eight pm when Athrun finally closed the book, saying, "With a roar, the men charged up the steps, as hungry for gold coins as wolves for meat."

"What? You're done already?" Kira asked, flipping over on the couch. He'd been laying on his back, eyes closed as he imagined the action happening in the book. "But what happens?"

"I'll tell you tomorrow after school," Athrun promised. Kira frowned for a moment, but then smiled.

"Alright. I trust you," he whispered, making it incredibly difficult to hear him. Kira stood up and stretched. A grumbled sounded throughout the room. Athrun stifled a giggle.

"I'll go make some dinner. We're late as it is," he said with a smile on his face and in his voice. Kira blushed and made to follow Athrun to the kitchen, but something made him stop just before he left the office.

It felt like a breeze had blown, his hair was practically floating! But instead of being amazed, it filled Kira with dread. And then he heard the voice.

'You're mine.'

The words echoed around him, like some creature had hissed it from the dark and the imaginary wind had carried it away. Kira shivered and hurried from the room after Athrun.

* * *

Peter and the Star Catchers, and Peter and the Shadow Thieves, are two books I have in my own book collection. They were, as said above, written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Therefore I do not own the rights to them. Most of the chapters are like, two to five pages long, which is really short. But I love the story line so I thought Kira might like it too. 

Pick them up! It's a good story!

Oh, and review please!


	3. Movie Pie Nightmare

This has got to be the stupidest chapter title I've ever come up with. Sorry about that.

**Chapter 2 - Movie Pie Nightmare**

Saturday came around quickly and soon Kira and Cagalli were standing in front of the movie theater. Athrun wasn't there, he was at Lacus's. She was having a concert soon, having become pretty famous since Kira came to live with them, and she needed Athrun's help with something or other. Kira didn't really understand, he just knew that he was going to the movies with his sister and he was really happy. He hadn't been spotted as 'that poor circus boy' even once!

"What movie?" he asked. Cagalli looked up at the 'now playing' board and made a face.

"Underdog." she said finally. "You'll love it. It's about a normal dog who gets superpowers by accident and fights evil."

"Ah." Kira grinned, trying to imagine a dog like Peter Pan, Batman, or a ninja.

Soon they were in the theater and the movie started. Kira really hoped the dog didn't look like the cartoon. Cause that dog was kind of ugly and he didn't think he'd be too interested in an ugly main character. But then the movie started and Kira breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the cute beagle on screen.

Too soon for Kira's liking, the movie was over. He turned to Cagalli with one thought in mind. He wanted a beagle. But as they were walking out, Cagalli told him how hard it was to take care of a dog if you didn't know how and what it took and Kira decided maybe he wasn't ready for a dog just yet.

They went to Athrun's house after the movie ended.

"So Kira, what should we do until Athrun gets back?" Cagalli asked as she closed the door behind them. Kira smiled, then frowned. Reading was something only he and Athrun did. So what could he do with Cagalli?

"Ah," Kira smiled. "Let's cook for Athrun."

Cagalli almost didn't catch what he said, still not used to Kira's whisper tone. "Cook what?" she asked. Kira shrugged and ran into the kitchen, Cagalli close behind.

-

The first thing Athrun noticed when he walked inside was the distinct smell of a baked good. He couldn't place what it was, but it smelled good. He also noticed that no one was in his line of sight, aka the living room.

"Kira?" he called. "Cagalli?"

"In here Athrun," Cagalli called, and Athrun headed for the kitchen. He heard Cagalli mutter something to Kira and Kira giggled softly, then Athrun was in the room and they both assumed 'I'm innocent' poses.

"What'd you guys make?" Athrun asked, sounding half curious and half suspicious. Cagalli scoffed.

"What, you can't tell?" she teased, pulling Kira to the side with her and revealing- "A blueberry pie." Athrun gaped at it. "Kira wanted to make something for you, and he said you weren't incredibly fond of sweet things. So we made you a pie with blueberries."

"Wouldn't cookies or a cake be easier? They can be made with unsweet ingredients," Athrun stated as he looked down at the pie. It looked delicious. Kira lowered his head in shame.

"Kira was the one who said pie when I asked what we were making," Cagalli explained. "He even came up with the blueberry part. Ask him."

Athrun looked at Kira and felt guilt rising up within him. Kira had worked hard to make this pie, with Cagalli's help, and with Athrun's reaction….he probably thought Athrun didn't like it, or appreciate it. He frowned and put a hand on Kira's shoulder. Kira didn't look up at him.

"Kira?" he tried. Kira sniffed, but Athrun could tell he wasn't crying….yet.

"It's the color of your hair," he explained softly.

It was a simple reason to chose blueberries and Athrun couldn't disagree with Kira's opinion on his hair color. But that just made Athrun feel even worse. He pulled Kira into a hug.

"I'm sorry Kira. I like it, really I do. And I bet it tastes wonderful. We can eat some after dinner, alright?" Athrun tried. Kira lifted his head and gave Athrun the best kiss he could, which ended up being a peck on the cheek because they were hugging.

"I feel like I've just intruded on something pretty personal. I think I'll leave now," Cagalli sounded like she was joking, but she headed for the door anyway. Kira broke away from Athrun and stood to follow her.

"I'll walk you to the door," he insisted. Cagalli shrugged and walked out of the kitchen, Kira hot on her heels.

When they got to the door, Cagalli gave Kira a big hug. "I'll see you later then," she sounded reluctant. "You know Kira….you've got a really good thing going with Athrun…He's a great guy," she sounded like she was avoiding the subject. "I'm kinda jealous you got to him first." She laughed.

Kira felt anger rise in him, and it scared him._ 'Then you should've taken him, bitch!'_ He quelled the feeling before it could show on his face.

"I'm sorry," he said, lowering his head again. Cagalli lifted it with her right hand and shook her head.

"Don't be. He loves you, he really does," she said kindly. "There are plenty of other guys out there for me to pick from. I've just got to find the right one. So don't feel bad for me. Everything'll be fine."

Kira smiled a small smile and gave Cagalli a big hug. He felt like a little kid. Everyone was always treating him like one too. Except Athrun. Athrun treated him like a normal person. Kira's fingertips brushed Cagalli's arm and they felt hot. Cagalli held his hand for a moment in surprise.

"I think you might be coming down with something," she sounded worried, placing one of her hands on his forehead and one on her own. Kira felt something in him burning uncontrollably, but he didn't feel sick. "Oh well….It's gone now…," she shrugged when the feeling fled from Kira's body. "But take good care of yourself. I'd hate to have to beat your boyfriend just because he got you sick!"

She laughed and waved as she walked off. Kira waved with a smile of his own, but he couldn't stop the foreboding feeling that was growing inside of him. Something bad was about to happen.

"Come on Kira. We're just going to heat something up tonight. That way, the pie tastes twice as good."

Kira turned and closed the door behind him. He could swear he heard someone laughing…but he was all alone in the room.

-

"Cagalli?" Athrun asked when the phone picked up. It was early morning and Kira was laying on the couch fast asleep.

"_Athrun? What's wrong?" _She sounded tired, for good reason. It was four in the morning.

"Sorry. But I got worried," he admitted. "Kira was doing something weird this morning and I felt I had to call someone. But Lacus is busy with her concert right now…"

"_What happened?" _she sounded more awake now, and worried sick. Athrun shrugged.

"I woke up when I realized that Kira wasn't next to me. When I got to the kitchen…He was balanced on one of the counters, and a kitchen table chair….Perfectly balanced between the two." He sounded baffled and ran a hand through his hair.

"_Athrun…," _Cagalli's voice showed just how exasperated she was. _"He was in the circus. You'll have to get used to him doing strange things sometimes…"_

"Cagalli, he was fast asleep. He hasn't woken up once since we went to bed last night at nine," Athrun said almost harshly.

"_Well….," _she was lost. _"Take him to a doctor if you think something is wrong…Or just talk to him about it. Maybe he was dreaming of a performance?" _she offered. Athrun sighed.

"Thanks anyway Cagalli. Maybe I'll try talking to him but….I'm getting worried. I've been worried ever since he had that nightmare," he sat down in the chair Kira had been balancing on. Cagalli sighed.

"_I don't know what to tell you. I don't even know what the dream was about," _Athrun's thoughts ran around how even _he_ didn't know what it was about, _"so I can't help you much. All I can say is that I know you two love each other more than breathing, so everything is going to be fine. You two are different. You don't always play by the rules. But you'll get through it anyway….Now can I go back to sleep?"_

Athrun laughed softly. "Yea, sure. I'll talk to you later then."

-

Cagalli hung up the phone and yawned, stretching her arms up high over her head. She wasn't ready to be awake yet….

'So you think he's such a great guy huh?' a voice asked. Cagalli freaked out and flipped around, looking for the voice.

"Who's there? I'll call the cops!" she threatened. The voice laughed. It was a man, no a boy. They sounded so familiar….

'Go ahead,' the voice challenged, 'You'll never get rid of me. I'm going to haunt you until you die, girly. It's what you get for not doing as I say. For keeping me from what is mine.'

"I don't know what you're talking about," Cagalli said, sounding as if she weren't afraid. The voice sounded like it was all around her. She didn't know where to look, so she just kept turning around trying to find the speaker.

'Of course you don't,' the voice growled. 'What has love ever done that involves you? Just stay out of my way and I won't have to kill you.'

Cagalli felt as if something was closing around her head…no, her brain. She cried out in pain and fell to her knees. It was such a crushing pain! She reached for the counter, and her fingertips brushed it just as another wave of indescribable pain washed over her. She needed help! She needed to call someone! She needed….

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Ooh! Twist! Review and tell me what you think! Thanks! 


	4. His Reflection

This chapter is a bit confusing. If necessary, I'll explain everything next chapter before the actual chapter, but that would give some spoilers. So try really hard to keep up with what's going on. Thank you!

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**Chapter 3 - His Reflection**

Kira walked into the bedroom he and Athrun shared, closing the door behind him. He leaned against it, taking deep breaths. It was hard to breathe. He could feel sweat trickling down his forehead. His hands were behind him on the doorknob and he felt them slip due to his sweat. He tightened his grip and let out a gasping breath.

"Ah…" he felt his legs giving out and sank to the floor. "I…."

He couldn't breathe! His hands let go of the doorknob and landed on the ground in front of him, trying to keep him from falling to the floor. He felt so weak! Kira gasped again. His head felt like it would explode! He couldn't hear anything except the rushing blood, couldn't see because his eyes were blurry, couldn't breathe…

"Kira?" Athrun's worried voice came from the other side of the door. "Kira are you alright? You rushed off so fast….You feeling ok?" he asked, not yet entering the room.

Kira shook his head, though Athrun couldn't see him. He was in so much pain….So much…He gasped and let out a short cry, falling to his elbows and knees when his hands could no longer hold him up. Athrun opened the door.

"Ki-Kira!?!" he knelt down next to Kira, but did not touch him. He was almost afraid to, thinking he would somehow hurt the man he loved. "Kira what's wrong?"

Kira shook his head. It was all he could do. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't speak. Kira took a shuddery breath, trying so hard not to pass out.

"I….." he coughed and tried to breathe, but it didn't work. He shook his head. "C-can't….br…."

Kira knew he was crying. He could feel the tears running down his face. And that didn't help his situation at all. It made breathing even harsher. His vision was going blotchy.

"Kira?!" Athrun yelped when Kira suddenly collapsed to the floor, breathing ragged and hardly at all. He jumped up and grabbed the phone. It rang and picked up. "Hello? 911? My boyfriend just passed out on the floor. He doesn't seem to be breathing very well. Yes. Yes. Please hurry." He was talking fast, but luckily they understood him. Then he hung up and practically threw the phone towards it's stand.

Kira's breathing was harsh. Athrun could hear him wheezing painfully and every now and then Kira let out a little whine.

-

Kira had been lain on the hospital bed, now breathing properly and no longer in pain. Athrun's face looked drawn as he turned to the doctor.

"Thank you." he bowed. The doctor shook his head and waved his hands to dismiss it.

"No need." he assured the blue haired man. "It's a pleasure….saving lives."

"What's wrong with him though?" Athrun looked at Kira worriedly as the brunette coughed in his sleep once.

"I'm not sure," the doctor admitted. "According to the data we collected, it was like…." he took a deep breath, wondering how to explain. "….like his brain was trying to do too much at one time. It was…pulling in two different directions, if that helps. I've never seen anything like it, even in mental patients or people with chronic illnesses. In simple terms, his body couldn't take the strain his brain was putting on it. He was trying to breathe, but his brain was so overloaded it couldn't process the need for air."

Athrun looked distraught. "Will he be alright?" The doctor shrugged.

"We've given him something to help him sleep, but keep an eye on him from now on. Don't let him overexert himself, and make sure he takes these-" he pulled a bottle of pills from his white coat pocket. "-everyday. They should help him stay calm."

Athrun accepted the bottle of pills from the doctor and inclined his head, showing he understood. The doctor left and Athrun turned to look at Kira. A machine was measuring his heart beats, another his blood pressure, and other machines he didn't understand. One machine was odd, and Athrun couldn't believe it was a normal machine. Based on what the doctor had told him, he guessed it was reading Kira's brain activity.

He knew too much brain activity was dangerous, but he'd never heard of something like Kira's experience happening before…apparently neither had the doctor!

Kira groaned and turned his head to the side, his right hand clenching and unclenching. Athrun walked over, placing the bottle inside his own jacket pocket, and took Kira's hand in his own.

"I'm here Kira….I'm not leaving you, I promise." Athrun was surprised when he saw Kira's face light up with a smile even though he was asleep.

-

The next day, Kira was released from the hospital with strict orders to rest for a few days at home. Kira wasn't sure what had happened and when he'd arrived in this strange place Athrun had taught him was a 'hospital.' He'd never been in one before, but he knew what they were for. He knew something had gone terribly wrong yesterday when he couldn't breathe, but what had caused it? Athrun said the doctors weren't sure yet…

"What do you want for dinner?" Athrun asked when they got home. It was late. They'd gone on a walk in the park before coming home. It had been, in the very least, relaxing. Kira looked like he was sleeping already.

"Hmm…" his normally quiet voice was softer than ever. "Something warm…." he smiled at Athrun as he was sat down in a chair at the table. Athrun shrugged.

"Gives me a lot of choices then." He smiled and gave Kira a little peck on the lips before heading into the kitchen and out of Kira's view. Kira frowned.

He wouldn't admit it to Athrun, but he was scared. He never wanted Athrun to leave his sight. He was so afraid something would happen to Athrun and he would be left all alone. He was so afraid of getting hurt and Athrun not being there for him. He just wanted Athrun to hold him, to let him cry out all his worries and fears, until he was stronger. He just wanted Athrun.

Kira flinched at a pain in the back of his head. Like someone had hit it, or poked it with a needle, or a mix of both…He rubbed his head and stared at the table. Kira yawned. He'd felt tired since yesterday morning, and the pills given to him by the doctor were not helping. He constantly felt weak, like he needed to lie down. He had a headache….

Athrun walked out of the kitchen and set one bowl of Macaroni and Cheese in front of Kira and one in front of himself. He smiled at Kira, who smiled back, glad that Athrun was back in the room. Really, it took very little to please the brunette, especially when it came to Athrun.

"I wanted to make something kinda quick. I didn't want to leave you alone for too long." Athrun picked at his noodles for a moment before he spoke again. "I'm scared for you Kira…Ever since that nightmare a few nights ago, things have been weird."

Kira stopped his slow eating and looked up at Athrun in surprise and slight fear. What?

"Is it because of what we did?" Athrun asked. "Do you regret…?" he sounded hesitant. Kira nearly jumped from his chair.

"No!" he yelled, then blushed. "Never. I would never….." Kira sank back down into his seat looking mortified. Athrun settled his shock at Kira's almost violent answer.

"Alright then…" he took a deep breath. "But…if something's bothering you….lemme know ok? I want to be there for you, protect you….I wanna help you."

'_He doesn't need your protection, piss ass! Stay the hell away!' _Kira shook his head to clear it of the sudden anger he felt.

"Ok." he smiled at Athrun. Athrun let out a breath of relief.

"Now, don't think too much, you might over excite your brain. Which might be pretty easy since it's so small." Athrun teased. He gasped when a cheesy noodle smacked him right below the eye.

"At least I have good aim." Kira joked, laughing.

-

'Kira….'

Kira jumped. He had just finished taking a shower and was getting dressed in the foggy bathroom. He looked around in fear as he hurriedly pulled his shirt on, now fully clothed.

'Kira, I think you're being unfair.'

Now thoroughly freaked out, Kira leaned against the bathroom wall.

"No…" he muttered to himself. "Go away….Make it go away…."

'I think you're going to betray me with that mouth of yours…..' the voice sounded like it was taunting him.

"Athrun…." Kira whispered, closing his eyes. He felt sudden anger, but he knew it wasn't his own. His eyes snapped open. The anger he'd been feeling wasn't his own! It must be the voice's anger!

'I think you're talking too much.' the voice said angrily. Kira gasped and held his throat. It felt like the air was being sucked out of it.

Kira reached for the bathroom door and turned the knob. He felt like he was about to pass out from lack of air. Someone was suffocating him! The door came open, cold air flew into the bathroom, and Kira could breathe again.

"Ath-……" Kira gasped, touching his throat. "A-…." His eyes widened and he stared in horror at his reflection, now visible in the mirror before him.

The hair was a shade lighter than it normally was, the eyes held no light. But worst of all was the maniac grin plastered on the face of the one who looked so much like him. His reflection.

* * *

No update on Cagalli, but I promise there will be one next chapter! Lacus will come in soon, hopefully, and more on who this mysterious enemy is. 

If anyone can guess it, kudos to them! And even better if you can guess why all the bad things are happening!


	5. Guilty Innocence

**Chapter 4 - Guilty Innocence**

The ringing of the phone woke Athrun up at three am the next morning. He'd had a hard time falling asleep, and had only managed it at one, so he wasn't quite happy about being woken up. He checked to make sure Kira was still asleep, then got out of bed and grabbed the phone on the nearby desk.

"Hello?" he asked drowsily.

"_Athrun?" _The female on the other end of the phone sounded scared, no - petrified.

"Cagalli?" he asked, feeling more awake just by the tone of her voice. He glanced over his shoulder at Kira, who was smiling in his sleep, and left the room. "What's wrong?"

"_Athrun….S-something's going on….I'm scared…," _It sounded like she'd been crying just recently, and might start any minute.

"What happened? Why are you scared?" he asked, pacing the living room. He ran a hand through his hair and watched strands of it fall back into his face. Bed head.

"_A v-voice…a voice in my head…." _Her voice was shaking. _"It…It's been threatening me…! I can't get rid of it….It's always here…always listening…always haunting me…."_

"Cagalli, calm down," Athrun ordered when she started to sound frantic. "How long has it been going on? Maybe there's someone in your house." He was trying to rationalize with her.

"_No….No they're not…I've looked…" _Cagalli took a few deep breaths before continuing. _"I…You had just called and we talked about Kira….about balancing on the counter?"_ She sounded unsure. _"It…It started right when I hung up….Oh god Athrun I'm so scared! I can't sleep….I can't eat…I'm afraid to talk….But it responds to my thoughts!"_ Her voice was breathless, and she sounded like she was about to hyperventilate. _"Athrun help me!"_

"Shh, shh….It'll be alright." Athrun tried calming her down. "Kira and I'll come by tomorrow, ok? We'll figure this out."

"_Kira?" _Cagalli's voice sounded shocked. _"Kira?" _Athrun didn't understand. She sounded like she'd reached an epiphany. _"The voice….and Kira….Kira had a fever, but it vanished when I touched his forehead….."_ She was muttering to herself and Athrun thanked his good hearing.

"Wait, what? Kira had a fever, when?" He was thoroughly confused. Kira hadn't had a fever anytime recently that he'd noticed!

"_That's it then…It's Kira…It's all Kira…." _There was a long pause and Athrun almost called out to her before Cagalli abruptly hung up the phone. He stared at the phone oddly for a moment before he walked back into the bedroom and laid the phone on it's stand.

He turned to look at Kira. Athrun remembered clearly the reason he'd had trouble sleeping tonight. Kira hadn't said a word to him since dinner. He seemed frightened when they went to bed, but he hadn't talked about it….and Kira _always_ talked about his fears if he could. Kira hadn't said goodnight, he hadn't given Athrun a kiss, he hadn't done anything. He had merely laid down and gone to sleep. Athrun was worried.

It wasn't until an hour later that Athrun was able to fall asleep.

-

Athrun parked in Cagalli's driveway and shut the car off. He turned to Kira, who was looking out the window away from him. He placed a hand on Kira's and the brunette stared at it before looking up at him.

"Cagalli needs us to be supportive right now. Don't be afraid of her ok? She's just scared." he tried to explain. Kira looked confused, but placed his right hand on top of Athrun's, then pulled both his hands away and got out of the car. Athrun frowned.

Kira waited and followed Athrun to the door a minute later. The bluenette knocked on the door and waited for Kira's twin sister to answer. He heard the lock click, but the door didn't open. He waited another moment before placing his hand tentatively on the handle and turned it, it was unlocked. He pushed the door open and looked around inside.

It was all dark.

Athrun walked in, Kira peeking in from behind him in worry. Athrun turned the lights on and instantly spotted Cagalli as she made herself comfortable on her couch.

Looking around, he would've thought his friend had been robbed. Some form of powder, possibly food related, was all over the tile floor of the dining room and what was visible of the kitchen. Plates and broken glasses were everywhere. Things that had been on shelves and decorations were on the floor in the living room, no pictures were on the walls, the couch was stained, and her books were bent all out of shape and laying randomly on the bookshelf.

"Cagalli?" Athrun asked, and the blonde flinched. "It's us, I said we'd come over the phone, remember?"

Cagalli's almost imperceptive nod let him know she was ready for them to enter the room. As soon as the front door closed, she seemed more relaxed. Her head was hidden behind her knees and arms, but she wasn't holding her legs in a death grip anymore. Athrun knelt down in front of her.

"How you holding up?" he asked. Cagalli shook her head and peeked an eye out to see him.

"It's quiet….now…," she muttered. "I'm hungry….tired…" she titled her head to the side. "But it's quiet." She seemed confused, like the word 'quiet' was foreign to her.

Athrun frowned and sat on the couch next to her, taking up the only remaining seat. Kira was hovering. He felt something foreboding about seeing Cagalli like this. He smiled as a thought hit him, belaying his previous thoughts of darkness, and hurried into the kitchen while Athrun stroked Cagalli's arms in a comforting way, assuring her that she'd be alright. Cagalli appeared about to cry.

Kira came back with two bowls. He set one on the coffee table, now about ten feet away from where it should've been and closer to the kitchen. It appeared to be filled with noodles and some sort of flavored water. He carried the other bowl, full of nothing but the 'water' over to Cagalli, with a spoon in it. It was chicken broth. Cagalli liked something called 'ramen' and it you remove the noodles, it's just like chicken noodle soup broth, which Athrun gave to Kira when he was sick once and hadn't eaten in a long while.

He walked cautiously, so as not to spill the broth, and knelt down in front of his sister. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth.

"Cagal-ah!" Kira gasped and jumped back as Cagalli lashed out at him, knocking the bowl backwards and covering Kira in chicken broth. Athrun hurriedly grabbed her arms as she reached out to hit him.

Kira stood up and backed to the other side of the coffee table, watching Athrun try and control his sister. It hurt…His chest hurt….Somewhere deep in his mind he felt some sick pleasure, but that just made him feel worse.

"Cagalli! Cagalli calm down! It's just Kira!" Athrun yelled. Cagalli wrestled to get his grip off of her wrists.

"No! No! Don't let him get near me….It's him!" she shrieked.

Crack….

Kira was sure his heart just shattered….Cagalli didn't want to see him, didn't want him to get near her….A tear broke free from his eye and trailed down his face along with the broth that hadn't already fallen into his clothing or to the floor. Another tear followed it, and soon he was silently crying on the opposite side of the room from his sister and boyfriend.

Cagalli kept thrashing on the couch until Athrun's grip went slack and he got up from the couch, except for his right leg, which he'd been sitting on and still had propped on the couch.

"Kira?" Athrun asked softly, worried by the tears. He felt sorry for Kira, because of what Cagalli said.

Cagalli went quiet and both other teens could hear suppressed noises from Kira crying. He tried to wipe them away, but it seemed futile. Cagalli looked up at him and returned to a normal sitting position. Before Athrun could go to Kira, Cagalli got up and made her way over to Kira….slowly, almost fearfully. Kira took a step back away from her and Cagalli flinched.

"No…Kira…" she muttered softly, clenching her right hand before reaching out to him. "I'm sorry…I don't know what I was thinking….Please…."

Kira wiped his eyes again and sniffled, then reached up and grabbed Cagalli's hand before it could touch his face. Her face fell, but then he pulled her hand and then let go as she came forward. Cagalli and Athrun both stared with wide eyes as Kira wrapped his arms around her torso in a hug that showed just how young he felt. Cagalli wrapped her arms around Kira too after a moment in a comforting hug, little tears hanging at the corner of her eyes.

"I just realized…," she murmured. "The voice vanished when you walked inside…." She hugged him tighter. "I don't know…what it means Kira…but it…no….I love you, little brother…."

Kira felt his tears increase and he hugged Cagalli tighter. "I know…" he whispered.

Athrun frowned.

-

Lavender eyes slipped open as a cool breeze played across his face and the grass he laid in. His hair softly brushed his forehead. For a moment he was at peace, staring up at the ceiling of blue with white clouds. But then he felt the other presence and realized he wasn't meant to be here.

'Kira…'

Kira sat up like lightning and looked around. The Dreamscape!

"No." Kira stood up and took off running. _'I don't wanna be here!'_

'Now Kira, that's so mean.' The voice sounded sad, and Kira stopped dead in his tracks.

"What?" Kira turned to look behind him, as if the other entity was standing there.

'It's just that, after all the time we've been together….you don't want to be here with me.' As always, it was all around him, haunting him…but it was almost remorseful. 'I just wanted to make you happy.'

"_No! No! Don't let him get near me….It's him!" _

Kira felt anger building within him. Happy!?

"Happy? You want me to be happy!?" Kira yelled out angrily. "You're so sick! Leave my sister out of this!"

The sky turned dark and rain clouds covered the sky.

'Isn't it sad?' The voice sounded so utterly depressed. 'I lived without emotions, yet I'm more emotional here than you ever were.'

"Shut up! Just leave me alone!" Kira shut his eyes tight. "I don't care what you can do! Just leave me, Athrun, and Cagalli alone!"

The clouds waters turned to something akin to acid rain, killing the grass and making everything a barren wasteland, except for where Kira stood. In that spot it was beautiful and green, and Kira was unharmed. Then everything except Kira's spot turned to evanescent grey.

'See, that's the problem, little Kira,' the voice hissed. 'You care too much. Too much about them. Too much about _him_…But you never cared about _me_.' The last word was almost a whine. 'Never about _me_. Me who loved you first…._You are mine_!'

"Then take it up with me. Leave my family, my friends, my _loved ones_, out of this!" Kira ordered with more courage then he knew he had. "It's because you sound like me that everything is going wrong! So stop whatever you're doing to my sister!" The voice didn't speak for awhile, then it's whispered answer came back to him.

'Alright….' Kira was almost surprised at how easy that had been. 'Sleep tight _honey_.' The title was almost demeaning and Kira felt himself shoved into the land of dreams roughly and with anger. But still, he passed on to blissful darkness.

* * *

A little insight on why the enemy does what he does. You who guess correctly who it is, I will jump you and love you because you're so great!

As promised, Cagalli will revert to normal soon, acting like she normally would, but a little more huggy towards Kira. I'm still trying to insert Lacus in the story, so keep an eye out for her. I'll try to post once a week.


	6. Struggle

**Alright! **Due to a review plea, I will be assuring all readers that **no Destiny characters will be present in this story. **I have yet to watch that series (though I plan to asap) and I don't really like what I've heard about the characters. **I will not use them in my stories **- maybe even after I've seen the series.

**Chapter 5 - Struggle**

In an effort to make Kira start talking to him again, Athrun had started taking the brunette with him everywhere. If he went to the store, Kira went to. If Athrun wanted to go for a walk, Kira walked too. If Athrun went to visit Lacus, which had only happened once, Kira visited and talked to Lacus. Lacus had given Athrun a worried look when she realized that Kira hadn't spoken to his boyfriend the entire visit, and Athrun just shrugged hopelessly.

Currently, Kira was walking with Athrun down the sidewalk towards the grocery store two blocks away. They weren't driving almost anywhere anymore, because then Athrun had to concentrate on the road instead of Kira.

While Athrun was in an internal battle of turmoil over Kira's silence, Kira was struggling to stay conscious. He was a step behind Athrun, squinting his eyes every other blink. He was seeing black spots on his vision. Kira shook his head but the black spots only got worse. He had gotten used to the constant weariness, and now he was given some other problem. One thing he was sure of, even if he could, Kira wouldn't tell Athrun.

Athrun already worried about enough things. Kira was a huge burden on the older male and Kira hated that fact. He was trying so hard to help out when Athrun wanted him to, and sometimes when he didn't. Kira did his best in school with how tired he was and he cleaned the house when Athrun was in the shower or on the phone in another room or something. Kira wasn't sure Athrun had noticed, but he'd been trying so hard to make life easier for the blue haired male for almost a week now.

Cagalli had noticed Kira's effort. Kira didn't tell her why, he just blushed when she asked about it, but he was glad it was noticed at all. He _didn't_ want his progressive weakness noticed though, and he did all he could to hide it.

They stopped at a crosswalk. On the other side, a store away, was the grocery store. Kira repressed a groan as his head thumped loudly and hurt. He put his right hand to his forehead and grabbed Athrun's right hand with his own left. Athrun turned to look at him and frowned.

"Do you have a headache?" he asked. Kira nodded vaguely, squinting his eyes. Athrun smiled comfortingly at him. "We'll get you something for it alright?" he asked.

The light turned to 'walk' and Kira pulled his hand away. Athrun frowned again but they started walking again anyway. About halfway across, the black spots got really bad and Kira had to stop. He took deep breaths, trying to make his vision clear and lessen the pain in his head.

"What should we have for dinner? We can buy it while we're here." Athrun paused when he didn't get an answer, though he hadn't expected one, and turned around. "Kira?" he asked.

The light changed to 'don't walk.' Kira still couldn't see more than pieces of the road. It was making him dizzy and he swayed on the spot. A horn honked as a car drove towards him, but Kira just shut his eyes, the noise making his headache worse.

"Kira!" Athrun's voice pierced his mind and his eyes widened.

Athrun gasped as the car ran over Kira. But he looked around, not seeing Kira anywhere. "Kira?" he asked in confusion. "Ah!" His head snapped up to the wire's above the street.

Kira was standing on the wire holding up the lights, perfectly balanced. It didn't look like he was even thinking about what he was doing.

"Kira?" he called out. Kira's hair flickered, making Athrun frown. Had it just gotten a shade darker? Kira blinked and looked around, as if confused. He took a step forward. "Kira no!" Athrun tried to warn him, but Kira was already falling off.

Athrun wanted to run to him, but a car flew past just as he headed for his boyfriend. Athrun just barely managed to catch sight of Kira almost on the ground and a semi truck before the truck had barreled past just like the other cars. Athrun's breath hitched, and then he saw Kira laying on the street, perfectly unharmed, looking straight up at the sky. The light turned red and all the cars stopped before they even got to where Kira was laying.

Athrun ran over, breathing ragged from nerves, and knelt down next to Kira. People on the sidewalks were staring at them.

"Kira?" he reached out for Kira, but the brunette - was his hair lighter again? - sat up and out of reach of his hand. "Kira?" he asked, standing up as Kira did the same.

Kira said nothing, just walked to the sidewalk on the grocery store side of the street, and stopped. Athrun watched as he swore Kira's hair darkened a shade - no, returned to it's normal color - and he looked around as if confused.

"Kira!" Athrun said almost angrily, putting his hand on Kira's shoulder. "What was that?" he asked. Kira just stared at him quizzically. Athrun sighed, knowing he wouldn't get an answer. "Nevermind. Maybe later…Let's go."

Athrun kept walking, but Kira was a bit delayed in following him. What was Athrun talking about? He hadn't done anything! He'd just been following him across the road, that was it. Wait…Kira waved a hand in front of his face. The black spots were gone! He smiled and hurried to catch up to Athrun as the other male entered the store.

-

It was inexcusable! How could Kira make Athrun even MORE worried about him then before without even knowing what he'd done!? It was ridiculous!

"Kira?" The voice, male, was somewhat familiar. "You still with me, Kira?"

Kira snapped his eyes open and looked around. He was sitting on Athrun's couch, in Athrun's living room, with his teacher standing in front of him looking both annoyed and amused at the same time.

"Good morning, sleepy head," he chuckled, moving out of the way and sitting on the coffee table. Kira narrowed his eyes. No one sat on the table. "You awake now?"

Kira nodded, still upset about the table. But he was also confused about nodding off. He hadn't even felt tired! He was listening to Mr. Anders one minute, and thinking about Athrun, and the next minute he was being woken up for sleeping in class!

"Good. I think you understand pretty much everything I've been saying to you…Think you're ready for the test?" he asked with a grin, turning slightly to pick up two papers stapled together. Kira nodded vigorously, trying to do as best as he could as fast as he could. "Good, good. Here ya go. Take your time."

Kira took the papers offered to him and set them on the coffee table, sliding down so he could sit as if at a desk. He picked up the nearest pencil, there were three on the table, and began to answer the English questions. Mr. Anders watched him the entire time, hardly even blinking. It was a bit distracting.

Twenty minutes later Kira was handing in his test and sitting back on the couch. Mr. Anders smiled and made an 'ah' sound. "I'll just grade this right now and let you know how you did, hm?" He smiled at Kira a bit before putting the papers on top of a book he was holding and using that as his desk. It took him only two minutes to grade the test, which made Kira feel silly for having taken so long. "Great job Kira! You only got one problem wrong."

Mr. Anders was always quick to give out compliments. He only spoke to Athrun when he arrived, when he left, or if there were any problems. He brought his own drinks and snacks and smelled funny. Kira guessed it was something Athrun called cologne, or deodorant, but he didn't dare ask. He just thought of it as 'Mr. Anders smells.'

Athrun walked in, looking grim. Neither he nor Kira liked Mr. Anders very much, but they had to deal with him. It was all for Kira.

"Time's up," Athrun announced, not sounding as grim as he appeared, but not happy either. "We'll see you tomorrow then, Mr. Anders."

"Oh, is it that time already?" Mr. Anders checked his watched and gasped. "Oh, it is, isn't it? Well then Kira, tomorrow." He inclined his head towards Kira before collecting his things and walking to the door. "Don't lose any of your papers, Kira," he warned before he shut the door behind him.

Athrun and Kira were both frowning. Athrun tried to smile at Kira, but it was difficult when he thought about how their relationship was falling apart….

"Should we order pizza tonight?" he asked. Kira shrugged and leaned back into the couch, looking a bit depressed. "Great. Dinner tonight and lunch tomorrow."

Athrun walked to the kitchen and picked up the phone to order. Kira listened to him, trying to catch every sound of his voice. His head throbbed.

'Stop it,' the voice commanded. 'What will it take to make you stop it?'

Kira looked defiantly at the tv across the room, where he could vaguely see his reflection in the black screen. _'I can't stop it. I love him. I always will and there's nothing you can do to stop me from loving him.'_

The voice growled deeply and vanished once more. Kira could feel the presence now. The proof that the other man, the voice, was there. He wasn't sure yet if he was insane, or if someone was using telepathy, or if it was just a freak of nature accident, but he knew that the other man was there.

-

It was green grass and blue skies again tonight. But this time, Kira had brought himself here. It was his plane. He needed time. Time with Athrun. So he reached out with his mind, calling for Athrun's and blocking out the mystery man's.

The sky turned dark with rain clouds, and the ground became concrete and asphalt. They were standing at a crosswalk, like the day they went to the store together and Athrun was freaking out. Speak of the devil, Athrun shimmered into existence across the walk from Kira, looking confused.

"What?" Athrun wondered, looking around. Since the discovery of Kira's identity as circus boy, everything was incredibly clear, so Athrun didn't have to guess who was standing across the road. "Kira? Where are we?"

Kira took a deep breath, and forced the words from his mouth. "The Dreamscape."

"The Dreamscape?" Athrun asked, looking around. "But it's a city…."

"You control it, Athrun," Kira informed him, taking deep breaths afterwards that were hopefully overlooked by his over protective boyfriend.

They were. Athrun was busy changing the setting to a beach. Kira smiled. This was much better - like the old days. A familiar anger rose up and Kira used his mind to push it away. Nothing was going to interrupt this. Kira walked over to Athrun and hugged him.

"Kira?" Athrun asked in confusion, surprised by the sudden hug. Maybe it wasn't the dreamscape. Maybe it was a dream.

"I'm sorry, Athrun. I brought you here," Kira admitted softly into Athrun's left ear. "We needed time….I needed you."

"Needed me? But we live together, Kira. Just talk to me!" Athrun pushed Kira off of him so he could stare his younger boyfriend in the eyes. "Why won't you talk to me?"

Kira shook his head. "I'm trying," he explained vaguely. "But I can't. I brought you here so we could talk….I don't wanna lose you."

Athrun frowned and pulled Kira close to him again. Kira wrapped his arms around Athrun as well and Athrun shook his head as best he could into Kira's left shoulder.

"No Kira….You're not losing me. I thought _I_ was losing _you_," he admitted. "But this is ok, right now. We don't need to talk, just hold me."

Athrun, Kira realized, was just as insecure about this as he himself was. He didn't know how to handle the situation, but then again he didn't know the _whole_ situation either. They were both afraid, both nervous, both the same.

"I love you." Kira whispered, so soft with his naturally soft voice, that Athrun almost didn't catch it. But when he did, he held Kira tighter and felt tears building on the sides of his eyes.

"I love you too…I love you too, Kira," he managed as he felt the tears start to fall. Athrun pulled away just enough to give Kira a passionate kiss, which was returned. Kira found it hard to keep the angry other out of the dreamscape, but it wasn't too bad.

Athrun pulled back and after a moment to breathe, went in for another kiss. He wasn't crying anymore. Kira felt Athrun's tongue invade his mouth and he moaned. Easy to please. Suddenly Athrun and Kira were on their backs about five feet from each other, with the wind knocked out of them.

"Oh no…I stop concentrating…" Kira muttered under his breath. "Athrun! Athrun are you ok?"

Athrun groaned and sat up. Kira smiled and stood, going over to his boyfriend. But he was stopped by an invisible barrier. He panicked.

"No!" he cried. "Athrun! No! Let me through!"

Athrun shook himself and sat up, trying to clear his head. He squinted at Kira and then his eyes widened. "Kira?" He stood up and walked over, only to be stopped two feet from his boyfriend by another invisible barrier. "Kira?!"

Kira was yelling something, and looked like he was breaking down. The brunette put his hands on the barrier and slid down it, a few tears creeping out of his eyes. Athrun gasped and smacked his hands into the barrier.

"No….Kira, come on…It's alright…Kira?" Athrun realized with a bit of pain that Kira couldn't hear him, and vice versa. He placed a kiss on the barrier and stared sadly at his boyfriend. "Goodnight."

Kira looked up just in time to catch the last word. He closed his eyes as Athrun shimmered from the dreamscape, on to dreams. The barrier vanished and Kira took his arms down from where they were in the air. He was now sitting on the ground, looking pathetic.

"I hate you…." he muttered. "I hate you! Whoever you are! Why are you doing this to me!?"

For a moment there was silence. 'The real question is, why are _you_ dong this to _me_? With all I've done, you would think I deserve some gratitude…,' The voice became taunting. 'But you don't even know who I am, do you, Kira? Poor little Kira, all alone. You were dying, weren't you, Kira? I saved you, didn't I? So why do I not get any credit? Why doesn't anybody love _me_?!' It was angry. The sun's heat was cranked up, but Kira didn't _really_ feel it.

Kira closed his eyes and faded out of the dreamscape, his plane, and on to dreams. He couldn't take that right now. All the sadness and anger seeped into him when the voice spoke. As soon as he was gone, the dreamscape flipped to black.

* * *

Alright, now you should basically all know who the 'bad guy' is...If you read Masked. I won't blame you if you don't. The part where he reveals himself completely is...sometimes soon...

Please review! I love hearing your thoughts on how I'm doing! And stay tuned for the next chapter. I'm gonna fight to get Lacus in here. I promise!


	7. Concert Plans

I finally did it. I got Lacus in here! And the girls are 'teaming up' in a way. I think it's pretty much coming to an end, but I don't know how long until the end. Just lemme know what you think and I'll keep writing!

**Chapter 6 - Concert Plans**

Kira was feeling a bit better today. He hadn't had nearly as many black spots and his headache was nearly gone. He could barely even feel the other presence in the back of his mind! That was a good sign, because Athrun and he had gone to see Lacus.

(Yay Lacus)

They had gotten two backstage passes to Lacus's first concert. The news said it was sold out - the entire stadium they had booked was packed full. Lacus smiled at them weakly about ten minutes before she had to start.

"Oh I'm so glad you could come," she breathed out. "I'm so nervous." Lacus tried giggling to lighten her own mood, but it merely made her sigh and feel more anxious. Kira hugged her.

"You'll do fine," he assured her, his hug comforting and strong. Lacus gave Athrun a look, and he shrugged. He had called her earlier today asking for help with Kira.

"Thank you, Kira. You're an angel." Lacus pulled out of the hug. "Can I talk to Athrun alone for a minute?"

Kira nodded, looking a bit uncertain, and walked off to occupy himself. Lacus turned to Athrun and placed her hands on his shoulders.

"Athrun?" she asked in concern. "I thought you said he wasn't talking."

"No," Athrun corrected, taking her hands off his shoulders. "I said he wasn't talking to _me_." Athrun shook his head. "Lacus, do you remember when I told you how Kira and I met?" Lacus nodded.

"Yes. You said it happened in a place between dreams and reality. A place controlled by emotions and will. It sounded so wonderful, the way you described it to me," Lacus said in a dreamy voice. Athrun frowned.

"Kira took me there last night. But something was wrong. I felt a third presence, and it kept us apart," Athrun shook his head. "Lacus…He spoke to me there. Kira talked to me, hugged me…He _kissed_ me there…Do you know how long it's been since we've kissed?"

Lacus frowned and hugged Athrun tightly. "I'm sorry, Athrun. I don't know what's going on with Kira right now, but I'm sure he's just as upset as you are. Otherwise he wouldn't pull you back to that wondrous place. I see it in his eyes everyday I see him…He loves you."

Athrun smiled sadly. A voice in the distance warned Lacus of the five minute mark and she pulled away.

"I have to go, but remember what I said!" Lacus waved to him with a happy smile before she hurried off to the backstage help to do final preparations.

Athrun meandered until he found Kira. Kira was facing a wall, leaning with his hands flat against the wall and looking at the ground. He looked upset, about to cry. Athrun almost walked over, but he didn't know how to help right now, so he stayed put. He watched the muscles in Kira's hands tense, his fingers curl and uncurl. Kira was fighting against something in his mind - frustration.

Kira let his arms drop to his sides and stood up straight, turning to walk over towards the stage again. He gasped and fell back against the wall at the sight of Athrun.

"Athrun…!" he gasped out when he hit the wall. Kira felt himself slide and soon he was on the ground, his left side hurting from the impact.

"Kira." Athrun rushed the last fifteen feet to Kira's side and fell to his knees beside the brunette. Kira looked up in shock when Athrun cupped his cheek in concern.

"Athrun I….Sorry. I just-" Kira seemed to realize he was talking and suddenly looked like a gasping fish out of water. He closed his mouth and lowered his head. Athrun helped him sit up.

"It's alright," he assured his boyfriend. "Maybe this is a recoil from your circus days. You didn't talk for years, right? Maybe your body's just remembering that….You don't have to talk."

It hurt to not have Kira talk to him. But Athrun knew that he had been fine with it before. He had been ok with a voiceless companion. Hadn't he once told Kira that all he wanted was a name, and that was all he needed? He didn't need a voice to be close to his love. He just needed Kira himself and everything would be fine.

Now all he had to do was convince himself of that and things really would be perfect again.

Kira smiled at Athrun and accepted his help in standing from the floor. A swell of music sounded and thousands of clapping hands. Both of their eyes widened. The concert! Athrun grabbed Kira's hand and ran full speed back to the side of the stage. It was only after the first song that Athrun realized he and Kira were still holding hands.

He smiled. Kira hadn't pulled away. Maybe he could accept not talking with Kira again?

-

"I'll come by in a few days. When all the chaos has calmed down, alright?" Lacus smiled. She was a bit out of breath, but happy with how she'd performed and proud of the concert. Athrun nodded.

"Alright. See you then I guess," he shrugged and Lacus smiled.

Kira's hand slipped into his own and both Athrun and Lacus smiled. Kira titled his head away, as if asking to leave. Athrun smiled.

"Alright," he agreed. "See you later Lacus." Athrun waved as he turned and began walking away.

"Bye Lacus!" Kira called out. Yelling for him was like a normal person talking a tiny bit louder than normal. Lacus frowned slightly, but picked her smile up until the boys were out of the area.

"Kira…," she whispered. "What's going on? Why won't you tell anyone?" She seemed to brighten and turned around. "Maybe he has?"

Lacus hurried to her changing room and picked up the cell phone off her desk. She quickly found her target in the contacts and clicked to call. After a mere two rings, the phone was picked up on the other end.

"Hello?" Cagalli's voice drifted out of the phone.

"Cagalli. It's nice to talk to you again," Lacus greeted.

"This is about Kira, isn't it." It was a statement. Lacus made a noise, confirming Cagalli's suspicions. "I knew it."

"You knew? Cagalli, has he told you what's going on?" Lacus asked as she sat in her chair, looking in the mirror.

"_No. I'm his twin sister, I think I would know," _Cagalli stated. _"That's why I'm suspicious."_

"Suspicious of what?" Lacus asked.

"_Did Athrun tell you about my…," _she cleared her throat, _"episode….a few days ago?"_

"Episode?" Lacus asked. She paused for a moment. "I don't believe so. If he did, I was so nervous about the concert that I forgot. I know he spoke to me about Kira."

"_A few days ago, I called Athrun for help because I had been uh…hearing voices…," _she cleared her throat again. _"When he and Kira came over, I mistook Kira for the voice in my head."_

"That's terrible Cagalli. He's your brother, and he wouldn't hurt a fly!" Lacus admonished.

"_I know I know," _Cagalli agreed. _"I apologized to him too. But it made me wonder and it wasn't until later that it hit me. At the time I reacted on a spur of the moment, but later I realized why I'd done it. Kira _did_ sound like the voice that was in my head. No, he _was_ the voice in my head. And it went away after he came to see me."_

"But Cagalli, you just agreed with me that Kira wouldn't do something like-"

"I know. But we're twins, right? We have a mental connection. The voice was in my head and it sounded almost exactly like Kira. And Kira stopped talking to Athrun, and only Athrun."

"What does Athrun have to do with the voice in your head?" Lacus asked.

"I thought about it, cause I wasn't sure. But I remember…I was talking to Kira when I realized his skin was hot. As soon as I noticed it, it went away. But that night, I started hearing the voice. I think that was when he did it to me," Cagalli explained. Lacus almost spoke, but Cagalli continued. "We'd been talking about Athrun."

"I see. So, you start hearing this voice after talking to your twin brother about his boyfriend. You stop hearing the voice after your twin brother comes to see you and stops talking to his boyfriend." Lacus stood up. "Cagalli, I think everything that's happening is because of Athrun. I'm gonna ask him about it when I go over to their house in a few days. I'm not sure if he knows anything, but if he doesn't, I'll ask Kira instead."

"No," Cagalli disagreed. "I'll ask Kira myself. We are siblings after all."

The phone clicked off and Lacus stared at her phone for a moment. Cagalli had sounded so serious in her last sentence that Lacus wondered what she was going to do. There was a knock at the door.

"Yes?" she called. The door opened and her manager walked in. "Oh, is it time to go?"

"Yes ma'am."

* * *

Please Review!


	8. Confrontation

First off, I apologize for not posting this yesterday. I said I'd get one out every week, and Sunday is my posting day. But I forgot to post it, even though the chapter was complete. I'm sorry. Please enjoy.

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* * *

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**Chapter 7 - Confrontation**

Kira was upset to learn that Athrun accepting him without a voice only angered the other presence in his mind. He had almost constant bouts of dizziness (that he was proud to say he was hiding well) and he was, again, always tired. Kira hated the tiredness more than the dizziness. Being tired meant he dozed off during class, couldn't go with Athrun when he went out, was unable to even cook for fear of sleeping on the stove or something.

The phone ringing was something far away to Kira. He didn't really care. Athrun always answered the phone. Right on the mark, Athrun had picked the phone up and was talking. Kira mind was fuzzy, so he didn't hear what was being said. It didn't matter much though, because soon Athrun was walking into the living room with the phone in his hand.

"Kira," he started, holding the phone out for him. "It's Cagalli."

Kira gave Athrun a confused look and took the phone. "Hello?" he asked softly. Cagalli sounded like she was smiling.

"_Hey there, little brother," _she greeted. Kira stared weirdly at the phone. _"I was wondering if you wanted to spend the day at my place tomorrow. You don't have school do you?"_

"Uh…no…," Kira answered almost uncertainly. "Sure…That's fine…Is something wrong?"

"_No…Why would there be something wrong-Oh, no. I'm over that episode. I haven't been bothered by the voice since you came to see me," _she assured him. Kira smiled brightly.

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow then," he said happily. Cagalli's voice also held a smile in it.

"_Alright. That's all I needed. I'll be waiting for you!" _The phone clicked off and Kira handed it back to Athrun.

"Something wrong, Kira?" Athrun asked at the look on Kira's face. Kira sat for a moment, then did something that almost made Athrun cry.

He made exaggerated motions in the air: a strange, self invented sign language. It was how they'd communicated in the Dreamscape when Kira couldn't talk and bodies were blurred. Athrun managed to pay attention just enough to understand what Kira was trying to say.

'_She's up to something. I could hear it in her voice. Too happy.' _Kira frowned when he was done and looked up at Athrun hopefully. Athrun nodded.

"Yea. She was," he agreed, and Kira lit up. Athrun had understood what he meant! Even after a year of soft talking, Athrun understood his made-up sign language! "I guess you'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see what it is. Maybe she got you a gift?"

Kira's eyes were shining. Athrun left to make something to eat and Kira frowned. Wait a minute, why would he be getting a present? It wasn't a holiday, or his birthday. So why? No, it wasn't a gift, it was something a bit….deeper…He could feel it.

-

So it was that Kira was dropped off at Cagalli's place the next day. It had been a two hour drive to get here, because Cagalli didn't have a house in their city, but Kira was used to it. He'd been here a few days ago, hadn't he? The fact that Cagalli was inviting him over must mean something good seeing as his last visit had her screaming for him to get away.

The visit started with her giving him a big hug as Athrun drove away, and then ushering him in and on to her couch. He was sitting where Athrun had sat the last time they were here. The presence in the back of his mind lurched and Kira felt sick for a moment. He took a few deep breaths to regain himself. He was glad Cagalli had left to get them both drinks.

Speak of the devil, in she walks. Kira smiled at her as she handed him a glass of water. He took a sip as she sat down next to him.

"So…," she started. Kira gave her his full attention. "I found a house near you guys. It's only five minutes from your house, so I'll be there if you need me, but I'm not intruding…right?"

'Intrude, please. Intrude all you'd like.' Kira's eyes almost widened when he heard the other presence talk. He could clearly recall all the other times that something like this had happened.

"No," Kira said, his voice quiet as ever. "That'd be nice."

Cagalli smiled. They lapsed into silence, an almost awkward one at that. Cagalli took a few drinks from her soda before she set it on the coffee table now situated in front of the couch. Speaking of which, the room looked normal now, not like a hobo or insane woman lived here. Kira smirked into his glass as he took a long gulp. When he was done, Cagalli spoke.

"So…I hear you and Athrun are having problems." She clasped her hands in front of her knees, her arms resting on them. Kira's head snapped to her. "I was just wondering….What's going on?"

Kira looked down into his glass with a frown. His head hurt a bit, but not much.

-

Athrun drummed his fingers on the wheel of his car, humming a tune to himself as he waited for the light to turn green again. Suddenly, he stopped humming and drumming his fingers, a gasp escaping his mouth instead. He saw a little bottle of pills in his mind.

"_Don't let him overexert himself, and make sure he takes these everyday. They should help him stay calm."_

He almost flipped the car around and went to pull Kira back home, but he stopped himself. Kira was at his sister's having a great time, not taking the medication for one day wasn't going to kill him. He took a moment to breathe and calm himself down.

Kira would be fine.

Now all he had to do was believe it.

-

"Nothing," Kira claimed, trying to sound truthful. He succeeded, mostly. But Cagalli caught the hint of lie that he couldn't cover up. She was his sister after all.

"You don't talk to Athrun," she pointed out. Kira stiffened. "Besides me and Lacus, is there anyone else you talk to?"

"How'd you-" Kira started. Cagalli answered the unfinished question.

"Lacus called me. She's just worried," Cagalli said in a reassuring voice. Kira frowned. Now he was making his _friends_ worry too? "So, _do_ you talk to anyone else?" she asked again. "Cause as your sister, I have a right to know who you're hanging out with." She teased.

Kira lightly hit her on the arm, smiling. He loved his sister. "I don't…talk with anyone else." He frowned. Cagalli did too.

The way he'd said the word 'talk' was strange to her. It had some kind of hidden meaning behind it. A light bulb came on in her head.

"Do you…listen….to anyone else?" She tried to say 'listen' the same way he'd said 'talk.' It seemed she'd said it well enough because Kira scrunched his eyebrows together and tensed his muscles. "Kira?….Who talks to you?"

Kira shook his head. "I…." He took a deep breath. "I don't know…I don't know…"

"What d'you mean?" Cagalli scooted over and wrapped her left arm around Kira's shoulders. He shook his head again, but didn't speak. Cagalli sighed. "Kira, it's alright to tell me. I'm your sister. You're _twin_ sister. I think _I_, over everyone else, should be able to understand you."

"No," Kira disagreed. "You're my sister…But Athrun…He's known me longer." Cagalli didn't move, as if afraid movement would shut him up. "He knows me better….I….I'm trying to seem ok…I'm trying to act like nothing's wrong….I just…"

It was as if his throat had been clogged. An odd noise came from his mouth and Kira shut it abruptly. Cagalli rubbed his arms with her hands to comfort him. He was starting to shake. When he'd calmed down, she spoke softly in his ear.

"Does it threaten you too?" she asked, just to see his reaction.

Whatever she was expecting, it wasn't Kira shooting up off the couch and dropping the water glass. He stumbled a few steps away. The glass shattered on the floor.

"No….No…," Kira held his head. "It doesn't…Whatever 'It' is." Kira looked at Cagalli. "Cagalli…I'm scared."

"Kira…," Cagalli went to stand up, but Kira took a step back and she sat back down.

"I told it to leave you alone….I ordered it to….I…," Kira looked like he was about to cry. It seemed like every word spoken was harder to say.

'Shut up!' Kira found his vocal cords stuck and frowned. It was angry.

Then she heard it. In her head, Cagalli could hear a voice. It wasn't the threatening voice. It was scared. It was Kira. In front of her, he was staring at the ground.

'_I hate it…I hate all of it…Cagalli, I just want to protect him! I don't want anyone else to get hurt, especially not Athrun…' _Kira's voice said in her head. Then he spoke in time with the words. It was an odd sounding speech. He was forcing the words out.

"I can't _talk_ to Athrun….I can hardly _think_ of Athrun….I can't _touch_ Athrun….I can't….," he trailed off, a single tear rolling down his right cheek. Cagalli just watched him. She didn't know how to comfort him anymore. "Ah…haaa…."

Cagalli's eyes widened when Kira started breathing heavily. He clutched his chest tightly and fell to his knees, his eyes hidden from his sister. Cagalli sprung from the couch and knelt next to Kira.

"Kira?!" she nearly yelped. "Kira what's wrong?"

"My head…," It was a breathy whisper in a whisper of a voice. She barely caught it, but it freaked her out. "I can't breathe…!"

As she watched, Cagalli could tell Kira's breathing problem was getting worse. It was ragged and wheezy and he fell onto his side, clutching at his throat and chest.

"Cagalli…," he choked out. Cagalli lifted her hands to her face, shaking terribly. What was going on!? Kira's vision was going black. He squinted up at his sister…for a moment…Yes, he could see Athrun. "A-…Athrun…"

The name snapped Cagalli out of her panic and she grabbed Kira's hands to move them out of the way so she could try and help him breathe. He gasped, his chest rising dramatically. She let go in surprise and he coughed. When the coughing fit subsided, Kira used his hands to push himself up into a relative sitting position. He kept his face to the floor as he took deep breaths.

"Kira?" Cagalli asked in a shaky voice. What was _that_!?

Kira tensed for a moment, then lifted his head to stare at Cagalli in the eyes. He was pale, sickly looking, but a small smile was on his face. Kira knew what that had been. It was a repeat of before. Now he knew the cause. The other presence. When it tried to do one thing, and he was trying to do another, it cut off his ability to breathe, to _function_.

"Cagalli…," he took a deep breath before moving forward a bit to hug her. Cagalli actually jumped when he first moved and wrapped his arms around her waist, but calmed down a moment later. "Thanks."

"Th-thanks?" Cagalli stuttered, unsure of whether to return the hug or not. "For what?"

Kira shook his head. "I don't know but…You just saved my life…I'm sure of it." Kira tightened his hold around his sister.

Cagalli stared at the top of Kira's head, for it was all she could see, for about a minute in complete shock. Then she wrapped her arms around him as best she could and returned the hug. She was still shaken by the not-breathing episode she'd just witnessed. It was a full five minutes before either of them moved. Cagalli was listening to his breathing, and Kira was listening to her heartbeat.

"Kira…," Cagalli said, sounding lighter than she had before. Kira loosened his hold on her and looked up. His eyes were bright and she smiled at him. "Let's watch a movie." Kira smiled back at her.

* * *

Yes, strangely, the pills the doctor gave him did fix the problem. The other presence couldn't stop him from talking to Cagalli or Lacus. Kira was already used to not talking to Athrun, so it was easy to do. But Kira fought against the order to stop talking about Athrun and it to Cagalli, and it caused an overload. The pills basically (and unintentionally) keep Kira and the other thing from being able to fight. 

I hope that isn't too confusing for you. -worry worry- -fret fret-


	9. Desecration Conversation

Um, sorry Ishie and Noodels, but I uh…Didn't understand your reviews…P.S. Noodels, I did read your profile, so yes, someone knows you run in squares and have a dead centipede friend named Larry in your basement…or did when I read that. Ahem.

Don't worry Kiheada.Ray.T., it'll be revealed...next chapter...?

Also, You guys might be sad to know that we're coming to the end. I'm not sure how long until it's done, but I know there's not much left. Be forewarned.

**Chapter 8 - Desecration Conversation**

_Brrrr…..Brrrrr….Brrrrrrrr….B-Click_

"Hello?"

"Lacus? I've got news about Kira."

"Cagalli?"

"Yea. I talked to Kira yesterday. Something strange happened, but I learned a bit about the issue."

"What happened?

"Well, I told him I got a house. Then I asked him if he talked to anyone besides me and you. He seemed surprised at the question, but said no, he didn't. There was something strange about the way he said 'talk' though, so I asked if he _listened_ to anyone else."

"Listened? You mean, because of the attack on your mind?"

"Yea. He got really defensive and everything just got weird after that. Kira talked. He said he didn't know who or what it was, but from what Kira said, it doesn't want him to have anything to do with Athrun. No talking, thinking, touching, _nothing_."

"That's horrible. Do you think it's another personality?"

"What part of Kira doesn't want to be with Athrun?"

"I suppose you're right…Did you find out anything else? I'm going over there tomorrow, so I need to know everything I can."

"Yea…Um…He stopped breathing."

"He _what_? Oh my god! Is he alright?"

"Yea, yea. He's fine. I…He said I saved him. All I know is that he was on the floor, dieing, and I tried to give him CPR or something and suddenly he was ok!"

"Maybe…You're twins…So maybe you gave him the stability he needed to overcome….whatever it was that was happening to him."

"I was thinking…maybe the thing that haunted _me_…did _that_ to Kira. Kira said he couldn't talk to Athrun. I don't think it wants him talking _about_ Athrun either. He was fighting….fighting to keep talking….He wanted me to know what was going on…But it really scares him Lacus….I want to help."

"We will. I promise."

-

Kira shook his head, trying to clear it. The woozy feeling only got worse. He was confused though, about the circumstances of the feeling. It appeared he was in a dream, so why would he feel about to pass out?

The sound of rushing air greeted him before the actual rush. Kira almost fell over from the force, but managed to steady himself at the last moment. When the air died down, Kira gasped. He was standing in the middle of a stage, a circus stage. There were hundreds, or thousands, of people in the audience around him. Suddenly, Kira's arm hurt and he grabbed the spot that pained him instinctively.

'_I…I can't do this…I can't survive this one more night…'_

Kira gasped, nearly forgetting the pain in his left arm, and glanced around for the speaker. It sounded…so familiar…

'_I..I could…do it.'_

Kira saw an image cross his eyes of a young brunette holding a broom, with hope in his eyes as he spoke. It was so long ago, but Kira knew that boy…That was him, the day he signed up to be an act. He had expected to be treated better as a performer, but things only got worse.

"What is this?" Kira asked, taking a step backwards from the image. He was on the stage again, and this time both of his arms hurt and he held them with his hands. He grimaced. "W-what?"

'_Wh-where's mommy? Daddy? What about-' _Cagalli…

It was raining and Kira saw a burning building. But he was outside and wet. His vision became blurred as he started crying unintentionally. Kira gasped lightly and let go of his arms to wipe his eyes. His arms didn't hurt anymore. He stumbled two steps forward when he felt a bit faint, and the stage returned. And suddenly, the voices around him weren't his own.

'_Let's give him a shot.'_

'_From now on, call me Master Marmen.'_

'_Why were you sitting in the dark?'_

'_Yea right, pipsqueak.'_

'_Are you crying?'_

'_Beat him per usual.'_

'_My name is Lacus Clyne.'_

'_Please survive…My brave…strong children…'_

'_A-are you…talking?'_

'_I was…hoping for a part-time job, you see…'_

'_My name's Athrun.'_

Kira felt as if he were being spun in circles very fast, and his head felt like it would explode. But the voices kept coming! He couldn't stop them!

'_He'll be wingless until near the end…'_

'_I just wanna know your name.'_

'_Kira! Move!'_

'_Go away…p-please…Just…Go…'_

'_I won't leave!'_

'_Why didn't you tell me?'_

'_Merry Christmas, Kira.'_

'_I…I love…you…Athrun…'_

'I'm always here for you…'

Kira' head snapped up and the feeling and voices stopped. Kira stared straight ahead, at the man standing before him.

"I told you, didn't I?" the man in front of him said. The voice was clear as day, beautiful and rich.

Kira didn't say anything because he was too busy looking the other man over. His eyes were a pale lavender color and his hair was light brown. His bangs barely made it to his eyes, but the overall hairdo was messy - like it hadn't been brushed in a few days. He wore a pair of black slacks and a white, long sleeved shirt. The shirt was missing the left sleeve and Kira saw several healed cuts and bruises all over his arm.

Kira gasped and looked at himself. He was wearing the same clothes as the other man, and he gently touched his own left arm, feeling the imperfections there. Kira lifted his gaze to the other man. Kira's eyes were glistening as if he were crying, but no tears fell from his eyes.

"You…It's you," Kira managed, still holding his arm. The other man grinned. He seemed happy.

"Of course it's me. Who else did you expect?" He shrugged and Kira forced himself not to step away.

"You're doing horrible things," Kira started, and the grin fell from the other's face. "If you keep doing this, I won't be able to talk to anyone at all!"

"No one but me, that is," the other man corrected. The other Kira. The thought made Kira glare.

"No. Not even you," he stated coldly. "I can't stand the thought of showing you that grace. If I can't talk to my own sister, my own boyfriend, or my best friend, I won't talk to you. I'd rather die."

The other Kira seemed shocked and took a step back. "No. No you can't." Kira noticed the other's hand started to shake. "I won't let you. I won't let you!"

Kira bolted upright in bed. He turned to his left to see Athrun, sleeping like a baby. Kira's eyes narrowed and he laid down next to Athrun, curling towards his body heat. Kira felt two tears escape his eyes before he stopped himself. He wouldn't cry because of that monster. He wouldn't give him the pleasure.

Slowly, he drifted off to sleep.

-

Because of the night's 'episode,' Kira hadn't gotten nearly enough sleep. In fact, he felt as if he hadn't slept at all. He knew part of the reason was that other person, but it was also because it had taken so long to fall asleep.

"Kira?"

Kira focused his eyes and saw his teacher, setting up for class. Kira tried to smile, but it wasn't happening. So instead, he turned and walked to the kitchen, to Athrun. He motioned with his hands and arms.

'Athrun, I don't think I can…,' Kira stopped. He shook his head. 'Nevermind.'

"O…k…You alright, Kira? You look tired," Athrun asked worriedly. Kira nodded and went back out to the living room. Once he was sitting on the couch, Mr. Anders smiled kindly at him.

"I thought today we'd do some science. Chemistry to be exact. You're so smart, we're done with most of your sciences," he complimented. Kira narrowed his eyes. Something was off. Mr. Anders never stopped smiling as he motioned to the little board he had set up. "Now, first off, we're going to go over the atom again. I know we did this awhile ago, but it's necessa-Kira?"

Kira didn't hear him. He swayed dangerously, his eyes rolled into the back of his head, and Kira fell over on the couch. Mr. Anders stared at him for a moment before moving to check his vitals.

"Still alive," he murmured. "I wonder what happened."

Mr. Anders looked Kira over, starting from the legs. Kira was wearing white pants today, and they showed just how skinny his legs were. No skinnier than Athrun's, but he was no muscle builder either. The pants were pristine. Moving up, he saw Kira was wearing a black shirt with long sleeves that flared at his wrists and ended at his fingertips. Kira's shirt was just as immaculate as his pants, but Mr. Ander's attention was grabbed by Kira's left hand.

He picked Kira's hand up, noticing how soft it was in the process, and examined it. Little scars littered his fingers. Like knife cuts from kitchen accidents, or soft self mutilation. Mr. Anders eyes glinted. He kept hold of Kira's left hand as he continued to look Kira over.

Kira's neck was mostly hidden by his shirt collar, but his face was uncovered. His lips were a soft pink, like normal. His cheeks were a tiny bit flushed, making it seem like Kira was blushing. Mr. Anders used his free hand to feel Kira's head, but he wasn't hot. Mr. Anders ran his hand lightly across Kira's forehead and down his right cheek. Kira didn't move at all.

Mr. Anders smiled, but this time it was somewhat creepy. He caressed Kira's left hand with the thumb of his own left, while his right hand moved up to Kira's hair. He ran his fingers through the soft locks of chocolate colored hair. Kira's mouth opened the slightest bit so he could breathe easier.

Mr. Anders licked his lips and moved his right hand to cup the back of Kira's head. He took a deep breath before leaning down over Kira.

The shattered pieces of a coffee cup scattered across the carpet of the living room. Mr. Anders fell back into the coffee table where his work was set up. The notes and papers went flying off the table as Mr. Anders flew onto it. A very pissed off looking blue haired teen stomped across the room. Mr. Anders looked up at him in shock as he held his now bleeding head.

"You psycho!" he cried out. "You could've killed me!"

Athrun grabbed Mr. Ander's shirt collar and pulled him up just a bit closer to his own face. Mr. Anders looked about to piss his pants. "It would be no less than you deserve, asshole. _My_ boyfriend passes out and not only do you _not_ come get me…You start making moves on him." His voice was eerily calm, yet the malice was there. "Kira's been through enough in his life and he doesn't need a pedophile like you perverting it even further." He put his left palm against Mr. Ander's forehead and shoved it backwards into the coffee table, effectively knocking the teacher out. "I hope you have a good lawyer," he said as he released Mr. Ander's collar.

* * *

Sorry. I'm not very good at scenes like that, and so it may not have come across very well. Mr. Anders was about to do naughty things to Kira. -eyes dart back and forth-

Anyway, lemme know what you think!

Next chapter is something I've been waiting for - A conversation between Athrun and 'Kira's Reflection,' as I keep calling him.


	10. The Other Side of Kira

**Chapter 9 - The Other Side of Kira**

"Thank you."

Athrun turned the phone off and set it back on it's hook. He'd just called the police. They assured him that Mr. Anders would be picked up in about ten to fifteen minutes - because Athrun assured them he wasn't going anywhere anytime soon.

He'd cleaned up the glass from the broken cup and tied Mr. Anders to the coffee table, not to mention hogtying him to himself. Yea, he was pissed. But now that that particular situation was taken care of, he turned his attention to Kira specifically.

Athrun gently lifted Kira from the couch and carried him to the bedroom they shared. He didn't want Kira waking up to the sight of his teacher unconscious and tied up. He laid Kira on the bed gently, then sat on the edge of the bed next to him. Athrun cupped Kira's left cheek with his right hand and sighed. Kira leaned into the touch and Athrun smiled sadly.

Kira was so pure and perfect. He never lied, he never did anything wrong. So why was he tormented this way? He loses his entire family in a fire when he turns six, gets taken in by a whack circus manager who beats him regularly and harshly, is forced to live within his own mind, is hit on by his own teacher, can't talk…Athrun's thumb twitched on Kira's cheek.

Athrun gasped when Kira's right hand shot up and grabbed his right wrist. Kira's eyes opened slowly and he focused on Athrun. Athrun saw it this time. Kira's eyes were pale purple, and his hair was too light to be his Kira's.

"_You_," the Kira look alike hissed, releasing Athrun's wrist and sitting up. Athrun took a step away from the bed.

"You," he responded, with almost no emotion. He didn't know what was going on, but he was going to find out.

"You didn't have to do that." Kira's voice was a tad deeper than Athrun remembered it ever being. "I could've handled it."

"You could not have. You were out cold on the couch!" Athrun's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. Kira did the same.

"No I wasn't. _He_ was. _I_ was perfectly awake." His explanation confused Athrun.

"What? What are you talking about?" he asked, taking half a step towards the bed. He took a full step back when Kira swung his legs over the side and stared up at Athrun.

"Kira is weak. It's up to me to protect him. _Not you_," Kira growled lowly. Athrun shook his head.

"You're not making any sense," he started. "If you're not Kira, then who are you?"

Kira stopped glaring. He looked puzzled, with his elbows on his knees and his chin in his hands. In that position, he shrugged. "I don't know."

"What?" Athrun asked. Kira wasn't making any sense. Sure, he was almost positive that this wasn't Kira. He didn't know how, but he knew it. Still, he was lost as hell.

"I never had a name," Kira stated simply, looking at the floor. "Everyone's always called me 'kid,' 'you,' 'Kira,' or something like that."

"But you're not," Athrun said as if determined. Determined to what? To find out the truth.

"No." Kira shook his head and the light brown hair ruffled. "In fact, I'm almost his opposite." He looked up at Athrun and the blue haired male had to admit that it looked very creepy. "So I guess…the appropriate name for me is…Arik." Kira's name backwards. How fitting.

"Arik," Athrun said in a breath. Then he glared. "Well then, _Arik_, why are you here?"

Arik laughed a few times. "Here? I'm always where Kira is. I'm his shadow. I'm his shield. I'm his mask."

"His mask?" Athrun asked. He stared straight into Arik's eyes and could remember every time he saw Kira on stage. "The circus."

"Yes. 'The circus,'" Arik mocked. "Kira couldn't take it, so he called me to help. I took over. I handled all the pain, the torture, the emotions that he couldn't handle. It's because he's weak. Because he's weak, I exist."

"No," Athrun shook his head and Arik frowned deeply. "You exist because Kira _needed_ you. But he's got us now. He's got Cagalli, Lacus, and me to protect him. He's not weak anymore." Arik nearly growled.

"_You_? You don't even know! I was fine with everything, _Kira_ was fine, until you showed up!" Arik yelled, standing from the bed. Athrun stood his ground.

"No," he corrected again, and Arik looked pissed off. "Kira wasn't fine. He was miserable. He needed a friend. He needed _me_. He would've gone insane because of what you did. Sure, you saved him from dying, but I saved his life."

Arik's hands twitched, as if he wanted to punch something - namely Athrun. He clenched them tightly to hold himself back. How would he explain himself to Kira then?

"Shut up!" he yelled. Athrun didn't flinch, but he was amazed at how loud Kira's voice could get. He was used to soft whispers of words, not screams like a normal person. Arik was amazing! "I was fine with that! I was _fine_ with him having a friend. I was _fine_ with you visiting him and keeping him happy. I was _fine_ with you and your friends saving him. I was _fine_ until you _stole_ him away."

There was venom on the last sentence, and Arik gave Athrun a glare that would kill weaker willed men. It took a moment for Athrun to figure out what Arik was talking about. Then his mouth formed and 'oh.'

"This is because we had sex, isn't it?" he said bluntly.(1) Arik clenched his fists tighter and his whole body tensed. "That's why you're doing this, isn't it? You're pissed off because I did something you couldn't. You're mad because he loves me."

"Gah!" Arik launched himself at Athrun, knocking them both to the floor. He held Athrun's shirt by the collar and glared down from above him. "Shut up! No he doesn't!"

Athrun frowned. Arik was glaring so fiercely. He didn't resemble Kira at all. "You can't accept that. You can't let him be with someone else. You love him too, don't you?"

Arik gasped softly, as soft as Kira's normal voice, and released Athrun's shirt collar. He didn't get up though. His eyes were wide and fearful. Athrun didn't move either, just spoke.

"You've been with him for so long, you didn't think he would be with anyone else. You thought you could have him to yourself forever. But then I came into the picture and, like it or not, he fell in love."

"No!" Arik yelled, punching Athrun in the face. Athrun didn't flinch, because the punch wasn't very powerful. But it showed how desperate this other Kira was.

"You're just like him, ya know? Kira couldn't feel enough to change the dreamscape. You kept all the emotions from him so that he wouldn't feel the pain of living. But you don't know how to control your emotions, and they got the best of you. Didn't they, Arik?"

Arik shook his head in denial and Athrun continued. "You didn't know how to cope, so you lashed out at the cause. Me. But you couldn't do it directly. You used Kira instead. Whenever I enter the picture, you get so mad that you cause other people pain."

"I'm just trying to eliminate the _competition_," Arik nearly spat, pushing Athrun even though they were on the ground and then standing up. Athrun pushed himself up onto his elbows. "I mean, I should have _that_ right at least, right? I've been around for around a decade. I've been taking care of him for most of his life. I think I deserve to get _some_ credit, don't you?"

Athrun wasn't sure if Arik was mad at him, or at himself. He stood up and Arik shook his head.

"Yes. And now we all know you exist. But you're hurting Kira-"

"No I'm not!" Arik growled out. "I'm protecting him. I'm helping him." Athrun shook his head.

"You're helping yourself! Kira can't take this much longer. His body, his mind, _everything_ is caving in! You've seen it, I've seen it. Why can't you just accept that now you're doing more harm than good?" Athrun argued, just as upset as Arik. Arik opened his mouth to talk, but the front door opened at just that moment, followed by a girl gasping.

"Athrun? Kira?" Lacus's voice traveled through the house and into the bedroom. Athrun, who had turned to face the door, barely caught it in time. Kira's hair darkened, his eyes rolled up into his head, and he went limp. Athrun managed to catch him, but the resulting noise of Athrun hitting the floor caught Lacus's attention. "Athrun, what-"

"Shh." Athrun gave her a look and then lifted Kira back into bed. He brushed the bangs from his face and pulled the covers up to his neck. After assuring himself that Kira was comfortable and ok, Athrun motioned for Lacus to follow him from the room. "I forgot you were coming," he admitted once the bedroom door was closed.

"I-I see that," Lacus stuttered. "What happened here?" She motioned to the unconscious Mr. Anders. Athrun laughed nervously.

"Uh…Kira passed out on the couch and Mr. Anders here uh…ahem…," Athrun shifted uncomfortably. "He tried to um…_violate_ Kira." That was the best way he could put it. Athrun took a deep breath after the hard time he had talking. Lacus gasped again and looked between Mr. Anders and Athrun several times.

"H-he…He…He what?" she asked in shock. "How's Kira?" Lacus moved as if to go back into the bedroom but Athrun held his arm out to stop her.

"He's fine. Doesn't even know it happened," Athrun assured her.

"Oh right," Lacus suddenly remembered. "I came today because I wanted to talk to you about Kira." She had Athrun's attention. "It's about his recent behavior."

"He's got another personality that hates my guts? Yea, I already know." Athrun shrugged it off and headed for the kitchen to make Lacus and him some tea. Too late in the day for coffee.

"You-You what?" Lacus asked as she followed him. "How? When?"

"Oh….about two minutes ago." Athrun stuck coffee bags into the water and let it sit for a moment as he just stared into his own cup. "I spoke with him."

"Spoke with who? Kira?" Lacus sounded confused yet hopeful. But she frowned when Athrun shook his head.

"No. With Arik. Kira's other half," he said in response to Lacus's utterly lost look. "Seems he hates me because he loves Kira."

"I don't understand. They're the same person, right?" Lacus asked as she was handed her finished tea. Athrun nodded.

"Two sides of the same coin. You remember how Kira was when we met him?" Lacus nodded. "That was him. That's why Kira was in the dreamscape to begin with."

"He did that to himself? Why?" Lacus asked, taking a sip of her tea as Athrun leaned on the counter.

"To survive," Athrun said in a sigh. "Kira was in so much pain, that he created this other self - someone who couldn't feel pain or sorrow…who couldn't feel anything really. But he didn't know it was another person entirely." Athrun sipped his tea and let out a breath. "They're two different people, Lacus. Arik and Kira. Like twin brothers."

"So…Arik was in _love_ with Kira, so he _hurt_ Kira?" Lacus was confused still. If you loved someone and wanted to protect them, why would you cause them so much pain? "Cagalli told me Kira stopped breathing yesterday." Athrun's eyes shot to her in shock and fear.

"What?" he asked. Lacus swallowed.

"She said that she and Kira were talking about you and he suddenly fell on the floor, gasping for breath." she explained as best she could. Not being there herself, she didn't know all the details. Athrun looked disgusted with himself.

"I knew I should've brought him home." He reached across the counter and tossed a bottle of pills at Lacus. She caught them. "They're Kira's. It's supposed to keep his mind from overexerting itself. He didn't take them yesterday."

"Don't worry so much, Athrun. Cagalli fixed it," Lacus said. "As long as he's got you and her, he'll be fine."

"Yea, but how long can we fight against something inside of Kira himself?" Athrun asked in a somewhat dejected voice.

Lacus didn't answer for a few moments, staring into her tea and thinking. Athrun had finished his own tea and was setting the cup in the sink when she spoke again.

"Bring him to my concert in two days," she said with a smile.

"Your concert? But we just went to one of your concerts. It's basically the same thing, right? So…why?" Athrun asked. Lacus calmly sipped her somewhat lukewarm tea and kept smiling.

"Well, I want you two to come again, for one. Secondly, I think it might help. Kira's here, all day every day. Arik must be upset about that. You and Kira alone all the time. Maybe being around other people for a little while will be refreshing for him."

Athrun nodded. "You're right. I'll do that." He smiled.

-

Lemme know what you think!

I wrote the scene between Athrun and Arik on paper in class, but then I didn't use it. Heck, I didn't even pull it out for reference. I only know that this version is a lot less…angry? Than the one I'd previously written. Hope you liked it!

(1) Happened before the Prolog


	11. Giving Back

I apologize for the long wait! I wanted to finish it all up in a long final chapter, but I needed a book my friend borrowed from me to finish it up. Also, I didn't get to writing it while I waited for the book, and that cost me time as well.

So I am SOOOOO sorry for the delay! I hope you enjoy the last chapter of Unmasked!

Onee-chan 1: no, seriously. He borrowed this book forever ago.

**

* * *

Chapter 10 - Giving Back**

Kira didn't wake up until the next morning, but Athrun suspected that was Arik's doing. He didn't move much, except to snuggle up to Athrun, until the bacon and eggs were on plates at the table, waiting to be devoured.

"Morning," Athrun greeted, acting like nothing was wrong. "Did you sleep well?"

Kira smiled with a stretch before sitting down. He felt a tinge of anger, but not much, at the back of his mind. Kira shook his head. 'Oh stop it. It's just food,' he thought. This was becoming pathetic.

"Something wrong?" Athrun asked. In his mind, Athrun knew that it was probably Arik doing something. But then he felt a little bad for blaming every little thing on Kira's alter ego. "Oh, right!"

Kira looked up, a bite of egg in his mouth. Athrun held out his right hand and Kira frowned. Kira held his own right hand open, palm up, and let Athrun drop the daily dosage (two) of medication into his hand. He really didn't understand what these did for him. But he chugged them down with his glass of water anyway.

"Feel better?" Athrun asked a minute later, after two bites of food. Kira seemed startled. He thought about it, and decided, yes, he did feel better! There was no anger at the back of his mind. He smiled and Athrun followed suit. "Good."

-

The afternoon was spent mostly with the police. Athrun told them about how Mr. Anders usually acted around Kira - all smiles and compliments and happy. They searched his name and found no record of similar incidents. But later in the day, while Athrun and Kira were still there, they found out he'd gotten divorced recently and under his wife's last name, there were several previous incidents - all involving younger men.

Athrun was told that he and Kira might be needed at a later date, but that they would be contacted well in advanced if anything came up. So the couple went home, after Kira signed an autograph for a female cop who recognized him and admired him.

Athrun almost didn't let Kira take a shower by himself. He didn't want to let Kira out of his sight, worried about what might happen when he wasn't around. But then Lacus's words floated back into his mind and he backed off.

_"Kira's here, all day every day. Arik must be upset about that. You and Kira alone all the time."_

Kira asked, in his sign language, what was wrong, but Athrun denied any problems. Athrun knew Kira was worried about him. He knew he shouldn't be so overprotective or paranoid. But he also knew that Arik was capable of powerful things. He wanted to be there!

So he sat in the living room, as close to the bathroom as he could get, until Kira was done. Soon afterwards, they were laying down to sleep and Kira turned so that he was facing Athrun.

'I love you,' he mouthed. Athrun smiled.

'I know,' he mouthed back. 'I love you too.'

Kira smiled. Athrun was great. He could talk, but he kept himself on an even playing field with Kira. It made him happy and soon, Kira drifted off to sleep. Athrun smiled with a tint of sadness in it when Kira cuddled into him. He draped his left arm over Kira's right side before falling asleep himself.

-

Athrun's nose twitched the next morning. Something smelled delicious! He popped his eyes open, noticing that Kira wasn't next to him. He hurriedly got ready for the day and walked out into the kitchen. Kira stood there, making pancakes.

"Kira?" he asked. Kira jumped slightly and turned with a sheepish smile to Athrun. "What….? You're cooking." Kira had stopped cooking a while ago! It was around the same time when he started falling asleep randomly.

Kira started making signs with his arms. 'I felt rested, so I took a chance. Good morning!'

Athrun smiled happily and hugged Kira. "Good morning," he whispered into Kira's shoulder. After a moment, he pulled away and nodded to the pancakes already on a plate ready to be eaten. "They smell good."

Kira's eyebrows rose and he put two on a plate and gave them to Athrun. The blue haired male smiled with a little half-bow and went to get the syrup. A few moments later, Athrun sat at the table, cutting his first pancake, and Kira was putting four on a plate. Athrun was always amazed by the amount of food Kira could ingest.

Athrun took a bite. "Mmm…It's good," he grinned. "Looks like you haven't lost your touch, Sleepy-head." He chuckled and Kira frowned inwardly that he couldn't throw a piece of pancake at Athrun's head. He grinned on the outside, prepared to plan for later. Revenge was sweet.

-

As they got ready for bed, Athrun came to the stark realization that he hadn't told Kira they were going to the concert yet. He pulled on his night shirt and turned to face Kira. Kira was wearing blue pjs that were really comfortable and a tiny bit big on Kira's small frame. Athrun found it adorable. Kira was sitting in the bed, staring at his feet and twiddling his thumbs. He looked unhappy.

"Kira, I forgot to tell you…Lacus came by yesterday," he said. Kira looked up in surprise as Athrun sat on the bed next to him. "She's invited us to her concert tomorrow."

Kira gave Athrun a confused look. He went to motion with his hands, but Athrun stopped him. He shook his head.

"I know," he said. "I think she likes having us there. I think we make her feel stronger somehow." He grinned. "Maybe because you've already been through so much, eh? You're the rock that's keeping her head above the water."

Kira smiled and Athrun felt lighter. Something was still off though. Kira was smiling, but he looked upset as well. No one else would notice it, but after a year of living together, Athrun saw the signs. His attention was caught by Kira's hands, which were making motions on the bed. He grinned.

"I've got an idea I'm sure you'll love," he said as if teasing. Kira took the bait. "When we get back from the concert, how about we finish that book. I know you wanna know what happens to Peter."

Kira jumped and hugged Athrun tightly, knocking them both back onto the bed. Athrun laughed.

"I've been neglecting my responsibilities it seems," he joked. Kira laughed and Athrun's eyes widened. Kira was laying with his arms around Athrun's waist, his head laying on Athrun's chest and eyes closed, so he didn't see it. Athrun looked down at his boyfriend and wished he'd laugh again.

It'd been so long since he'd heard Kira's voice. He hadn't known how much he missed it. Athrun felt tears welling up in his eyes and forced them back.

"I love you," he whispered.

-

Kira nearly ran to the car and waited for Athrun to unlock the doors. He sat down in his seat and stared out the window as the car started up. Soon after, they were on the road and headed through town to the amphitheater where Lacus was singing tonight. Kira smiled at Athrun, then frowned out the window.

'You didn't take your pills today,' Arik's voice whispered in his mind. Kira frowned.

_'Please don't do anything. We're going to help Lacus out, I don't want anything to go wrong,' _he pleaded. Silence greeted him for a minute, and then Arik spoke again.

'I'm not trying anything right now. I haven't been trying anything for almost three days now,' he said.

Kira kept staring out the window, wondering what Arik meant by that. He breathed out heavily and a light bulb clicked on in his head. His voice!

"Athrun...," he whispered under his breath. Athrun didn't hear him, but he'd said it. He'd said Athrun's name and felt no anger. Actually, he felt sadness. Kira frowned. "A-"

Kira stopped. That noise. A screech of rubber on asphalt, a car horn: he could hear little things even though he couldn't see them. **Danger!**

"Athrun." Kira's voice was clear, and loud enough to be considered above normal. Athrun turned from looking around the area to Kira. Kira looked frightened. A black truck flipped into view on Athrun's left, came bolting down the perpendicular road towards them. Kira's eyes widened, but Athrun was looking at Kira instead. "Athrun!"

He pointed and Athrun turned to look as Kira unbuckled his seatbelt. He pushed himself out of his seat and over Athrun. Athrun's eyes flicked to Kira, Kira wrapped his arms around Athrun protectively, and then it hit them. The driver's side was smashed in, Athrun's seatbelt broke. The car went flipping across the intersection, other cars skidding to a stop to avoid getting hit. They hit a light pole, denting the top of the car in, and the car landed right side up again.

Inside, Kira was still holding Athrun, but in a different position that he was before. His right hand was holding Athrun's shirt, just above the heart. Kira was on top of Athrun, both of them now mostly in Kira's seat and partly in the middle of the car. Blood was slowly soaking the green shirt Athrun had chosen to wear. Kira's hand loosened it's grip and went slack.

-

"Why would you do that?"

Everything was so dark. He couldn't even open his eyes.

"I don't understand you. Not at all."

He felt as if he were floating through space. There was nothing beneath him, nothing above him; just the voice existed.

"Do you really love him that much?"

He heard the sound of a the first rain drop falling into a pond. Tears.

"I'm sorry, Kira."

It all went silent.

-

Emerald green eyes shot open and Athrun sat up like lightening. He looked down at himself, seeing a white t-shirt instead of the green one he'd put on this afternoon. He looked around the room, noting the bland white walls, furniture, and ceiling. The hospital.

Athrun found his clothes on a table across the room. The black jacket he'd been wearing over his green shirt was missing a sleeve, but otherwise they seemed fine. Why had his clothes been changed?…..

Where was Kira? What happened?

Just then, a nurse walked in and saw him. She smiled. "Oh, you're awake!" she said cheerfully. Athrun nodded. "We were worried about you, but you were fine except for a few scrapes….It was odd actually, with all the blood on your clothes."

"Blood?" Athrun asked. He looked down at himself, seeing an everyday bandaid on his right elbow, and one on his left shoulder - where the sleeve was severed.

The nurse shook her head. "Not yours," she said softly, sadly. "Your friend's."

Athrun's mind jumped as if shocked, and he ripped the covers away to stand up. Once out of the bed, Athrun hurried over to the nurse, who was still by the door.

"If I'm not injured, take me to him. Take me to Kira," he ordered. The look on his face and the tone of his voice was probably why she didn't argue.

-

"_We got the blood flow dammed for a bit, but I don't know how long it'll work," _a doctor was saying when Athrun got to the surgery room. There was a large window in the wall, and microphones in the room - probably cameras too. He could hear everything without ever going inside. What he heard, and what he saw, made him feel sick.

Kira was on the operating table, surrounded by doctors. They hid the brunette mostly from view, but everything was covered in blood. Athrun knew was Kira's. He put his right hand over his mouth and his left across his stomach. Why….?

"Why?" he said aloud, and the nurse who brought him looked at him. "Why am I unharmed, and he's like this?…." Athrun felt like he was going to cry. The tears were building behind his eyes, and it showed in his voice. "We were both in the car….I was right there…..Why is he…?" Athrun couldn't finish.

"The way you were found in the car….," the nurse said softly, "…It looked like he was protecting you. I'm not sure how, but he managed to save your life." She smiled sadly at Athrun. "But he…." She trailed off and looked at the ground.

"_We need to numb him, but if he falls asleep, he'll surely die." _Athrun heard the echo-y voices from the other side of the glass and felt himself shatter.

Kira was conscious? He was conscious and enduring this? How?

"_Just do it."_

Athrun took a step to the left and peeked around the doctor's shoulders. They all seemed shocked as well. The voice that had spoken came from Kira's mouth, but it didn't seem affected by the wounds. It was crisp, clear, deep, and Athrun knew that voice.

"Arik," he breathed out. His eyes widened.

Arik couldn't feel any pain. That's why Kira was 'conscious.' Arik wouldn't let Kira die, so he wouldn't let Kira's body fall asleep during the surgery. Arik would endure it, because he couldn't feel it. Athrun slid to the ground, now barely tall enough to see through the glass. Kira was going to live. He was sure of it.

Athrun looked through the glass, and saw Arik's right eye looking back at him. Athrun felt a shiver run through him, and for a moment he thought it was fear. Arik turned his head to look fully at Athrun. Arik's mouth moved, and Athrun read his lips.

'I'll give him back…..I finally had to accept that. He was willing to sacrifice himself for you, and I know he'd never do the same for me…..But I don't know……,' he paused for a moment, and Athrun titled his head while he waited. He was used to reading lips, and was very good at it. 'I love him, but he loves you more…..I'm sorry.'

Arik turned his head back to the ceiling. He closed his eyes slowly and took a deep breath. Tears slipped from under his eyelids and slid back across his face and onto the table beneath him. His hair was flashing between dark brown and chocolate brown - back and forth and back and forth. Athrun's eyes widened.

Arik was….Arik was….

…dying…

-

Athrun walked up to the door he was told would let him in to see Kira. It was a one bed room, unlike the one Athrun had woken up in. Athrun lifted his right hand, let it hover over the handle for a moment, then set it on the cool metal and turned it silently. The door slid open without a sound and Athrun closed it just as quietly. He stayed by the door as he looked at Kira in the dark.

He was mostly covered by the thin sheets of the hospital bed, but Athrun knew that under that was a body completely wrapped in several layers of bandages. Kira's right leg was strung up in a cast, as was his left arm from the elbow down to his fingers. Athrun knew he had stitches in his left thigh and a neck brace. They said he almost snapped his neck. There was an oxygen mask over his mouth and several Ivs in each arm. Athrun walked over and ran his hand over the bandages, over Kira's head.

A head injury. Was that why Arik 'died,' or was it something else? Athrun didn't think a head injury would rid Kira of Arik. Athrun sat in a chair next to Kira's bed. He put his arms on the bedside and rested his chin on them.

"Arik….saved your life," he said softly. Athrun stared at Kira for a while before talking again. "He was like a little kid. He didn't know how to share, or react to his emotions. I think he did, in fact, love you. But I don't think he understood that entirely."

Kira didn't move. The only indicators that he hadn't died were the rise and fall of his chest and the fog of the oxygen mask. Athrun sighed with a smile.

"That was a really stupid move back there," he said lightly. "But I'm glad you're alright. And I promise, everything'll be okay. You hear me, Kira?"

Athrun resituated his chin on only his left arm and used his right to mess with Kira's bangs. The brunette eighteen year old smiled and Athrun stopped what he was doing in shock. Kira's face fell back to neutral. Athrun smiled.

"God I love you," he breathed out in a whisper. Kira didn't respond.

-

**Five Weeks Later**

Athrun knocked on the door to Kira's hospital room a moment before opening it. Kira's bed was up in a sitting position at the moment, the remains of breakfast on the panel of wood in front of Kira. The brunette smiled when he saw Athrun come in. Athrun smiled too.

He had come every day to see Kira, and stayed as long as he could before leaving. Kira slept for three days after the surgery, but Athrun would bet that it was because Arik was no longer there with him. The first thing Kira did when he woke up was ask if Athrun was alright. He bugged the nurses so much that they called Athrun and had him come in before visiting hours to calm him down.

Now, Kira's leg was almost fully healed, the cast was gone and replaced by bandages. His arm was in a similar state. The rest of his body was so healed that Athrun couldn't tell the difference between the car accident scars and the circus scars. He wasn't sure if it was normal to heal this fast, but it HAD been five weeks, so he supposed it shouldn't come as a surprise.

Kira was in physical therapy now for his injured limbs. The doctors said that his previous scars were making it difficult for Kira to get movement back in his leg and arm, so physical therapy would be necessary to fix him up as good as new. They also said Kira would be able to leave the hospital soon. There was no specific date, but soon was good enough for now.

"Hey," Athrun greeted, sitting in the chair next to Kira's bed. Kira smiled at him.

"Hey," he said softly. Athrun still melted when he heard that voice. Kira's voice. He hadn't known how much he missed it during the episode with Arik, but he was sooo glad to have it back. "What's that?"

Kira pointed to the book in Athrun's right hand. The blue haired teen looked surprised for a moment, then smiled and brought the book up for Kira to see. Kira's eyes lit up. "Oh this? I just thought maybe Peter was getting lonely."

"Athrun," Kira laughed lightly with a bright smile. That was it. That was all Athrun needed to feel that he had made the world a bit brighter - to feel better.

"So, where were we?" Athrun asked, flipping through the pages. "Oh, we're almost done," he announced in a surprised voice. "Don't worry," Athrun assured Kira with a ruffle of his brown hair. "I'm sure there'll be another one. Until then we can reread these two."

Kira let out a dramatic sigh. He sunk into his pillows and stared at the ceiling for a moment, as if no longer interested in the book. Athrun looked put out and Kira giggled at the expression. Athrun took the book and whacked Kira lightly on the right shoulder.

"Anyway," Athrun said as if it finished the matter, then opened up to their page again. "Ahem. Let's see, the Lost Boys were escaping from Hook's fortress, right?" Kira nodded. "Alright...Ahem, 'They're escaping!' shouted the pirate. 'The boys is loose!'

'Pull!' shouted James, and with a desperate heave, they yanked Tubby Ted out of the cage. The four of them tumbled to the dirt as pirates began to spill out of the hut. 'Run!' shouted James, and the boys sprinted toward the unguarded gate.

'GET THEM!' roared Hook, stumbling from his private hut, still in his nightshirt, sword in hand. 'GET THEM!'

James, keeping behind the other three boys, glanced back over his shoulder. The pirates, led by Hook, were close behind; too close. With a sinking heart, James realized that even if he and his mates got through the gate, they would quickly be recaptured outside. Then he looked forward, and yelled in surprise.

The gates were closing.

One gate, in fact, had just bumped shut. As Prentiss and Thomas darted through the opening, the other half of the gate moved, also closing. James couldn't see who was doing it, but clearly, somebody was pulling the gate shut from the outside. Tubby Ted barely squeezed through the closing gap. Would there be room for James?

'Hurry up, James!' shouted a voice…a voice James knew well. With a furious last burst of speed, James lunged through the opening just as the second gate slammed shut."

Kira gave a little cheer and Athrun's smile broadened. He read until the end of the book and showed Kira the picture at the back. It was of Captain Hook with a smashed mango on his head. Kira chuckled and managed to just reach Athrun enough to give him a light peck on the cheek.

"I love you," he breathed out, and appeared to be trying to hide in his sheets. Athrun smiled.

"I love you too," he responded, and kissed Kira on the forehead - where the bandages used to be.

* * *

Sorry to end it there. I wanted to keep writing about the book, but I thought 1) you might not care since it isn't about Kira or Athrun and 2) I didn't want to spoil the ending. In case you _want_ to know, the book is Peter and the Shadow Thieves, I think I mentioned it earlier too.

Anyway, I hope you liked the final chapter. I apologize for it's lateness. I'm being perfectly serious when I say I saw how long it had been and it hurt. I'm serious. I felt PAIN at seeing when I last posted! That's serious!

So, please review! Tell me if you liked it, hated it, whatever. Thank you for being so patient with me!


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